Strike Force Trawler detectives charge Catholic priest Guy Norman Hartcher, 77, over child grooming at Pendle Hill

Police will allege an alert from the social media giant kicked off an online police sting before a retired Catholic priest was arrested on a suburban street where he believed he was meeting a teenage boy for sex.

An alert from social media giant Facebook kicked off an online police sting before a retired Catholic priest was arrested on a suburban street where he believed he was meeting a teenage boy for sex, police allege.

Retired priest Guy Hartcher, 77, was taken into custody at Pendle Hill after he allegedly engaged in sexually explicit conversations with who he believed was a 14-year-old boy.

Sex crimes squad commander, Detective Superintendent Jayne Doherty, said Hartcher appeared shocked when he was approached by detectives from Strike Force Trawler, an ongoing investigation by Sex Crimes Squad’s Child Exploitation Internet Unit (CEIU) into the sexual abuse and exploitation of children facilitated through the internet and related telecommunications devices.

Det Supt Doherty said police would allege that they were notified by earlier this year after the social media giant “identified an account that was sharing child abuse material overseas”.

She said the Facebook account was closed before Meta referred the accounts and its activity to the US-based national centre for missing and exploited children.

Police allege Facebook alerted authorities to an account which had allegedly shared child abuse material overseas.

That centre referred the matter to police before Strike Force Trawler detectives then “engaged online with the owner of that account”.

“Police will allege that that was the 77-year-old male arrested yesterday,” Det Supt Doherty told reporters on Tuesday.

Catholic priest Guy Hartcher sits in the back of a police vehicle after his arrest at Pendle Hill. Picture: NSW Police

“Investigators purporting to be a 14-year-old boy chatted online with that person, who then shared with us a number of sexually explicit photographs and discussed in detail sexual acts that he would like to commit with that 14 year old boy.

“Police will allege that that 77-year-old male arranged yesterday to meet with what he believed to be a 14-year-old-boy at Pendle Hill.

“He arrived around 12.15pm and was immediately arrested by investigators.“

Hartcher was taken to Granville Police Station, where he was charged with use carriage service-procure under 16 years for sex with another and use carriage service to send indecent material to person under 16.

He faced Parramatta Local Court on Tuesday where he was not required to enter a plea to the charges and made a successful bid to be released on bail.

A police prosecutor told the court Hartcher was an unacceptable risk of committing further serious offences.

The prosecutor said the alleged offences occurred over a period of seven days and “seemed to be a repeated or prolonged period of offending” against a “specific demographic”.

Hartcher’s defence barrister Self Rumbewas conceded that while the prosecution case was strong, concerns of further offending could be mitigated by strict bail conditions.

Mr Rumbewas said “inevitable delays” would likely see his client spend more time behind bars than any potential non-parole period if Hartcher was found guilty on the charges.

He also said it would be more difficult for his client to access ongoing medical treatment for health conditions including an inflamed oesophagus and bowel concerns.

Mr Rumbewas proposed strict bail conditions would mitigate concerns of further offending and safety to the community.

Acting magistrate Larry Brazel granted Hartcher bail, ordering a list of conditions including that he must adhere to a strict curfew, report daily to Eastwood police station, and must not possess a mobile phone or device that can access the internet.

He must also not go within 500 metres of a school or childcare, and must not contact any child under the age of 16.

His matter is due to appear at Burwood Local Court on January 8.

Det Supt Doherty also warned parents to be vigilant about what their children were doing online.

“The internet is like the real world. There are places that your children can go on their own and places that they should be accompanied by you,” she said.

“Parents should always be aware of who their children are speaking to, and make sure that their children know if they are speaking with anyone that is asking them to do something that they know is not right, that they should go to their parents or a trusted adult.”