Mark Ladmore found guilty of child sex offences following Bega District Court trial

A South Coast man has been found guilty of a litany of child sex abuse offences where it was determined he intimately touched, assaulted and groomed a young person.

Mark Ladmore was found guilty of a number of his offences on Friday.

A South Coast airconditioning business owner has been found guilty of a litany of child sex abuse offences where it was determined he intimately touched, assaulted and groomed a young person.

Judge Andrew Haesler SC handed down Mark Ladmore’s verdict on Friday following an eight-day judge-only trial in Bega District Court.

While the 44-year-old was ultimately found guilty of sexually touching a child, producing child abuse material, assault, and intentionally carrying out sexual activity with a child, he was acquitted of possessing child abuse material, and of committing aggravated sexual intercourse with a child, with Judge Haesler saying the latter charges could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt.

The court heard the verdict stemmed came after it was determined Ladmore sexually assaulted the child and took images of them while they were naked.

Judge Haesler also revealed he believed Ladmore to be an “unreliable witness” who was fabricating reality.

Mark Ladmore entering Bega District Court for his judgement on Friday, March 21, 2025. Picture: Tom McGann.

“He lied to the court,” he said during his judgment.

“He took known facts and put a twist on them.”

Mark Ladmore’s trial was held in Bega District Court.

The court found that along with sexually assaulting the child, Ladmore took intimate images of them, one even taken from a roof cavity while the child sat in a bath.

“He was an airconditioning installer, he knew how to get into a roof cavity,” Judge Haesler said.

The findings also confirmed Ladmore had possession of a suitcase which contained a number of sex toys and miniature sex dolls, some of which were used in the assault of the child.

However, the court could not prove Ladmore definitively held more than 100 child abuse images on his phone, with a forensic analysis expert previously confirming in the trial the images were deleted.

Mark Ladmore has been found guilty.

“There is no evidence which proves how these images came to be on the device,” Judge Haesler said.

Ladmore’s defence barrister, David McCallum, told the court they had closely considered the child complainant's evidence, labelling it unreliable.

However, Judge Haesler ultimately disagreed, calling the child a “reliable witness”.

It also follows Crown prosecutor Roger Kimbell saying Ladmore was “obsessed” with the child and calling him a “liar” when he denied the offending.

Despite being on bail throughout the trial, Judge Haesler said his findings would “likely lead to a custodial sentence”, refusing bail as a result.

Ladmore – who sat in the witness box still-faced during his more than two-hour-long judgment – was handcuffed and led out of the court after his verdict.

He will be sentenced at a later date.

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