Michelle Kylie Tickner in Southport court on child exploitation material charges after online dating fail

A woman’s bizarre messaging role-play with a man online went horribly wrong when he wrote his teen daughter into their fictional fantasy. Read how it landed her in court.

Michelle Kylie Tickner, 47, leaving the Southport courthouse with her partner. Picture: Jessica Paul

A woman’s bizarre role-play fantasy with a man she met online landed her in court for the first time on a serious child exploitation material charge.

Michelle Kylie Tickner started messaging a man she met through dating site Plenty of Fish on October 6, 2019.

Southport District Court was told the pair started a pretend sexually explicit role-play scenario, in which the man pretended to be a teacher and Tickner one of his 16-year-old students.

Crown prosecutor Caitlin Usher said the man, who cannot be named, wrote his 13-year-old daughter into the fantasy on two occasions in the next several days.

It was heard the girl was referred to as both an observer and a participant in sexual activity in Tickner and her partner’s online scenario.

Ms Usher said the now-47-year-old clearly had no intention of acting on the fantasies, but did know the man had real children and enabled his daughter’s pretend involvement in their role-play.

Michelle Kylie Tickner, 47, leaving the Southport courthouse with her partner. Picture: Jessica Paul

“The (fictional) introduction of the child was done by the co-accused on both occasions, but it’s certainly relevant that (Tickner) went along with it on both occasions,” Ms Usher said.

“It is certainly a unique situation, and of course offending against children in any context is considered very serious.”

The court was told that such sexual fantasies involving children – real or fictional – could result in the same criminal charge of making child exploitation material.

Ms Usher said Tickner was charged after police found the conversation while investigating her co-accused.

The man’s matters are yet to be finalised in court.

Defence barrister Nick McGhee said Tickner had no criminal history and had been consistently employed since leaving school in Year 11.

He said parts of the text conversation showed Tickner’s initial reluctance to involve her co-accused’s child, including that she would ‘panic’ if his daughter walked in on their fictional encounter.

“It is, in my submission, offending that is entirely out of character and a complete aberration,” Mr McGhee said.

“I don’t take away from how that message exchange has evolved, but it is prefaced (or) qualified by the fact it’s some sort of naughty-talking fantasy they were engaging in.”

The court heard there was no evidence the man’s daughter knew about or had been affected by the messages.

Mr McGhee said a psychological report submitted to the court revealed Tickner’s “submissive and subservient” personality, and suggested she was vulnerable at the time of the offending after moving to Queensland on her own.

He also said Tickner should be spared a recorded conviction, as it would see her become a reportable offender with “onerous (and) entirely unnecessary” conditions.

“Her future is really going to be a continuation of her gainful employment and supportive relationship with her partner,” Mr McGhee said.

The Yarrabilba woman’s partner watched proceedings from the courtroom gallery.

Tickner pleaded guilty to one count of making child exploitation material.

She was placed on probation for 15 months. No conviction was recorded.