William Ruming: Former Surfside man pleads guilty to possessing child abuse material

A South Coast mum’s startling discovery has landed her husband in court after she found screenshots on his phone from a group chat titled “family enthusiasts”, and messages from a user called “pantie man”. Warning: Graphic content.

A South Coast man’s vile secrets have been revealed in court after his wife discovered screenshots on his phone from a group chat titled “family enthusiasts”, as well as messages and sexually explicit images shared by a user known only as “pantie man”.

Father-of-two William Ruming was residing in Surfside, north of Batemans Bay, when one evening in August 2021 his wife used the flashlight function on her husband’s phone while he was asleep, inadvertently revealing a cache of child abuse material and explicit messages.

In the conversations recorded in police documents, the 36-year-old former Sanctuary Point man received images from multiple users of pre-pubescent girls posing or engaged in sexual acts.

In one exchange with a user known as “Dan Noname”, Ruming asks if he has: “Got any younger?”

“No, I wish,” the user replied.

Ruming then asks if the man has had sexual intercourse with the man’s daughter.

“Yes, have been for a year now,” the user replied.

“Hmm any pics?” Ruming asked.

According to police documents, Ruming then received a close-up image of a prepubescent girl engaged in a sexual act with a man.

In another conversation, Ruming claimed he would “f**k her hard” after receiving images from a user known as “Katiexxx” of a young girl posing, while also sharing an image of a young girl in a leotard and ballerina skirt, stating: “Nothing better ha ha”.

According to the documents, photos and recorded conversations were forwarded by Ruming’s wife to herself before she replaced the phone.

The following day, she confronted her husband.

“The accused was working night shifts at this time, and upon awakening, his wife confronted the accused and demanded he pack his belongings and get out,” according to police documents.

“The witness showed the accused what she had just discovered on his phone, to which he replied: “I’m sorry I f***ed up.”

“The accused packed his bag and left.”

Ruming later admitted himself to the Mental Health Facility in Milton, prior to being transferred to the Mirrabrook Mental Health Unit at Shellharbour.

On September 10, he handed himself into police and denied an electronically recorded interview after seeking legal advice.

At the Batemans Bay Local Court on Monday, Ruming pleaded guilty to possessing child abuse material.

Ruming has since moved to Jimboomba near Logan in Southeast Queensland to live with his brother and sister-in-law.

Magistrate Dick Doug told Ruming’s lawyer, Sydney-based solicitor Rasheen Mahmodian, he would be required to travel to Batemans Bay for sentencing owing to concerns that supervised orders handed down in NSW would not be actionable in Queensland.

Ruming will reappear before the Batemans Bay Local Court on August 8.