Rhys Bennett Nelson jailed for child abuse offences on Snapchat

A magistrate has scorned a man’s ‘callous and predatory’ crimes after he targeted a young teen on Snapchat and stockpiled child abuse material depicting victims as young as six.

Figtree man Rhys Nelson was sentenced on Wednesday. Picture: Facebook

A Figtree man who groomed a 15-year-old girl on Snapchat before being caught with a sickening stash of more than 150 items of child abuse material has been sent to jail.

Rhys Bennett Nelson, 22, was sentenced in Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday to seven months behind bars following guilty pleas to grooming a child between the ages of 14 and 16 for unlawful sexual activity and three counts of possessing child abuse material.

Magistrate Claire Girotto said the three child abuse crimes were the “most serious” charges because they involved the “exploitation, abuse and degradation” of “pre-pubescent females and males somewhere in the world”.

In September last year, Nelson sent a friend request to 15-year-old girl on Snapchat and she accepted because she believed they were around the same age based on the number of mutual friends they had.

The teen rejected his advances on multiple occasions before Nelson sent her a video of himself masturbating with the message “WYD” which means ”What are you doing”.

The girl was “shocked and felt sick” and told Nelson she did not want to see the video, reiterating she was not interested in him and she was aged 15.

Nelson continued to pester the girl who took a screenshot of the conversation.

A 21-year-old Rhys Nelson groomed a 15-year-old on Snapchat.

“Mate I said I didn’t want to see it so keep it to yourself you weird c--t. How old are you?” she said in one message.

“I already said I’m too old for you but I want your body,” Nelson replied before revealing he was 21.

“Mate I’m 15,” she said.

Nelson’s harassment continued with him saying “I can’t help myself” and “I want to be inside u”.

The girl told her mother and found Nelson’s Instagram account before reporting him to police.

In October, police arrested Nelson and seized two smartphones, an external hard drive, a laptop and a PlayStation he stored in his bedroom cupboard.

He went to Lake Illawarra Command where officers discovered Nelson’s habit for hoarding child abuse material.

On an iPhone, police unearthed 130 child abuse videos and images including one where a group of children were engaging in sexual activities with one another.

Rhys Nelson was found in possession of more than 150 items of child abuse material. Picture: Facebook

A further 1393 pornographic images were located on the iPhone.

Police also found a further 15 items of child exploitation content across his Samsung Galaxy smartphone and Lenovo laptop.

Police interviewed Nelson who told them he had not used Snapchat “for about a month” and that the conversations he had with the girl “didn’t sound familiar”.

He told police he “had been hacked a couple of times”, although he admitted he did send a video of him masturbating which he “probably sent it to multiple people at the same time including men and women”.

Nelson said he was “pretty sure” all the people in the videos and images on his devices were over the age of 16, before he was shown one of the pictures on one of the devices which he agreed was of a child.

Despite this, he said “I’m not into children or anything like that”.

Nelson also revealed he was in a Snapchat group called “Freaky” which exchanged pornographic images.

“Most of them (the images) are adults … sometimes they send these young ones,” he said before adding “but once you save the photos they all save together at once”.

He told police he didn’t “pay much attention” to the images of the “young ones”.

Rhys Nelson leaving Wollongong Courthouse earlier this year. Picture: Dylan Arvela

In court on Wednesday, Ms Girotto outlined Nelson‘s offending before referring to a psychologist’s report indicating he had “no memory of the online communication” with the expert suggesting that had ”more to do with the shame over the behaviours”.

The magistrate noted the age of the children depicted in the abuse material, some who appeared as young as 6, and affirmed while Nelson did not produce material, his consumption of it perpetuated their exploitation.

“I am satisfied he collected the material for his use, but there is some evidence he was a part of a network of like-minded people,” she said.

“Mr Nelson has no prior criminal history, but the court has heard possessing child abuse material is frequently committed by persons of prior good character.

“[Possessing child abuse materials is] a callous and predatory crime.

“The material in question cannot come into existence without the exploitation of children somewhere in the world.

“The damage done [to the children depicted] is undoubtedly and often profound. Those who consume it feed the exploitation.

“Every time the offender views the material, he is reminded of the exploitation, abuse and degradation of the victim.

“Every use provides further encouragement [to make child abuse material]. It cannot be categorised as a victimless crime, the children are the victims.”

Ms Girotto considered Nelson’s “young age” as well as a ”difficult upbringing” because of his “violent stepfather” when she handed down his sentence.

In addition to the jail sentence, Nelson was placed on a three-year community corrections order for the child grooming offence.