Gippsland’s most horrific sex offenders: Anthony Frendo, Werner Holz, Craig Liefting
From a respected businessman who gave his victim expensive gifts, to a trusted teacher who preyed on his students, these are Gippsland’s worst sex offenders.
Bass Coast News
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They’re depraved criminals whose vile acts have shocked the Gippsland region.
A retired fireman who shows “no remorse”, a Traralgon stepdad who “had fun” with his trusting stepdaughter and a respected business owner who showered his victim with expensive gifts to keep his lewd acts under wrap.
These are Gippsland’s top ten sexual offenders seen in court over the past year.
Anthony Frendo
A retired fireman from country Victoria was jailed for 14 years after he sexually abused three children, one as young as four, and showed “no remorse”.
Anthony Frendo, 75 of Gippsland, was sentenced in County Court in April after he earlier pleaded guilty to sexually penetrating three children under the age of 16.
The court heard Frendo abused the kids multiple times over a decade, dating back to the early 2000s, and denied the offending when asked by police.
The abuse started when a victim stayed at his house.
He took the then eight-year-old to bed to “play a game” then sexually abused her.
He told the girl not to cry and not to tell anyone.
In a victim impact statement the girl said she was scared to sleep in case her attacker appeared in her dreams.
“Anthony shows up in my dreams, then I feel angry for the rest of the day. I feel sick and afraid to go back to sleep,” she said.
While she read her statement, Frendo was seen in court “shaking his head”.
The court also heard his youngest victim could not play with other children because she has “thoughts in her head” she can’t get rid of.
His third victim, who has autism, now suffers from anxiety and takes anti-anxiety medication.
A victim impact statement from his mother said he doesn’t understand why an adult would hurt a child.
Judge John Smallwood said Frendo did not deserve mercy and had shown “no remorse”.
“You are a criminal and an old man and you’ve got a very severe sentence and you deserve every second of it Mr Frendo,” Judge Smallwood said.
Frendo will be eligible for parole in 2032.
Wayne Phillips
A former spray painter was jailed for 16 years after he sexually abused five children who he bought gifts and fast food so they would keep his “secret”.
Wayne Phillips, 53, of central Gippsland, was sentenced in the County Court in April over 18 charges of sexual assault and sexual penetration of children under the age of 16 and 12.
The court heard the victims were aged between five and nine and the offending happened over a year.
Phillips repeatedly told his victims not to tell anyone, saying it was their “secret” and it would make “adults angry” if they found out.
He would take his victims to Kmart to buy toys, as well as McDonald’s, and would abuse them when they returned to his home, a country town in Gippsland.
Phillips then threatened he would stop buying his victims toys if they told anyone.
The court heard a 7-year-old victim refused to tell her mum because she didn’t want to get him “into trouble”.
On one occasion Phillips penetrated a girl up to 30 times.
Judge Amanda Chambers said Phillips must have known his offending was “extremely wrong” as he breached the trust of children and their parents.
“You betrayed that trust for your own sexual gratification,” she said.
The judge also said he provided the girls with “inducements, including toys and gifts to facilitate the offending and prevent disclosure”.
When Phillips was assessed in custody, he said the only physical contact he had with the children was when they needed help washing their hands.
He will be eligible for parole in ten years.
Werner Holz
A Traralgon business owner was jailed for six years after he sexually assaulted a young girl.
Werner Holz, 63, was found guilty in the County Court to charges involving sexual penetration of a child under the age of 16 and sexual penetration of a child between 10 and 16.
The court heard Holz gave his victim expensive jewellery and clothes after the assaults, called her a “good girl” and told her not to tell anybody.
In a police interview Holz denied any sexual interest or sexual conduct with the girl.
In a victim impact statement, his victim said she was admitted into a psychiatric unit after an attempted overdose.
“I’m hoping for some kind of future but right now I’m existing, not living,” she said.
Judge Damian Murphy said the offending was a “grave breach of trust”.
Holz is a registered sex offender for life and will be eligible for parole in four years.
Traralgon stepdad
A Traralgon man waited until his wife was at work before he sexually assaulted her 15-year-old daughter who thought of him “like a dad”, a court heard.
The man, who the Bass Coast News has chosen not to name, was sentenced in the County Court to eight years and three months jail for charges including sexual penetration of a stepchild and sexual assault of a person under 16.
The court heard the stepfather promised his stepdaughter a smoke if she took off her clothes for a “nudie run” but she said no.
After he persisted, she took off her clothes but kept her bra and underwear on.
The stepdad then took off his clothes and told her to take off her underwear.
He asked her to his room, locked the door, and performed lewd acts on her then violated the girl without a condom.
An hour later he asked her to go to the spare bedroom where he violated her again then told her not to tell anyone.
The next morning he said he had “fun last night”.
He asked her the following weekend if she wanted to go for another “nudie cigarette”, but she said no.
In a handwritten letter, the 15-year-old told her mum what happened.
When asked by his wife about it, the man said it was true, before asking if she was going to report it to the police.
In a victim impact statement, the girl said the assault “completely” changed her.
Her stepdad, who treated her like a daughter since she was one, took away her appetite, sleep, energy and trust of men.
She now struggles to concentrate at school and says the “smallest things tip her over”.
Judge Pardeep Tiwana said it was “abundantly clear” the man had profoundly impacted the young girl’s life.
He was convicted and sentenced to jail for five charges of sexual assault, with a non-parole period of five years and six months.
Michael Salerno
A Traralgon dad was jailed after he sexually penetrated a 12-year-old girl while she was pushing him off her and saying “no, no, no”, a court heard.
Michael Salerno, 55, received an 18 month jail sentence after he was charged with indecent assault and sexual penetration.
He earlier pleaded not guilty in the County Court to the crime which occurred in 1987.
The court heard Salerno indecently assaulted the teen in her home when he entered her room after a night of drinking 35 years ago and “took away her right to be a child”.
Salerno, then 19, climbed into his victim’s bed, took off their clothes and sexually penetrated the girl, causing her “significant pain”.
After two minutes, he got up, dressed himself and then left the room, leaving his victim in blood-soaked sheets.
Court documents reveal the Traralgon man returned to his friends and made a lewd gesture referencing what he had done to his victim.
When he was told the victim was 12, he said “so what?”.
It wasn’t until 2018 when the victim decided to go tell police about the assault.
Judge John Smallwood said this offending which happened in the late 1980s was “opportunistic though brutal” and had “dreadful consequences” for the victim.
“What I‘m faced with is a 19-year-old young male who has gone into a 12-year-old girl, a virgin, and violently sexually penetrated her and effectively put her in a situation of being mocked afterwards,” he said.
Judge Smallwood said Salerno had “done well for 35 years”, but his victim has “done the best she can under very, very difficult circumstances, and will continue to do so”.
Salerno was sentenced to a total of 18 months behind bars.
Craig Liefting
A Victorian primary school teacher who sexually assaulted two students was regarded a “high risk” of reoffending after he claimed one victim was a “willing participant”.
Craig Liefting, 49, was sentenced in the County Court in May of last year to a minimum three years and six months jail after pleading guilty to three child sex charges.
Liefting’s victims were primary school students he taught in the past decade.
Liefting’s lewd acts on both victims occurred in a classroom and his office.
Liefting assaulted the other victim multiple times over a two-year period, the court heard.
He made the girl sit under his desk and commit lewd acts.
Liefting also offended against the girl – who said she felt “broken and used” – during a school-sanctioned event.
An education support worker witnessed Liefting at the school in a compromising position with a student in 2016.
The court heard the principal conducted an internal investigation but Liefting – who denied the allegation – remained at the school.
Liefting was teaching at Wonthaggi Primary School by the time he was under police investigation in late-2019.
He told a psychologist one of his victims was a “willing and consenting participant”.
Liefting also said the offending was “sexually gratifying” and “emotionally fulfilling”.
The psychologist said Liefting suffered from a “pedophilic disorder” which meant he was a “moderate-high” risk of reoffending when released.
Judge Anne Hassan said Liefting committed a “gross breach of trust”.
“Your victims were completely defenceless and no doubt confused and distressed about what was happening to them at the hands of their teacher,” she said.
Judge Hassan was also concerned about Liefting’s prospect of rehabilitation given his comments regarding consent.
Liefting was jailed for a maximum five years and six months.
He was placed on the sex offender registry for life.
Les White
A Leongatha paedophile told a young girl “bad things” would happen if she told anyone about the sick sexual acts he performed on her.
Les White, 76, was jailed for 11 years in the County Court in July 2021 after he was found guilty of committing an indecent act with a child under 16, sexual penetration of a child under 16 and attempted sexual penetration of a child under 16.
The court heard White sexually abused the victim, aged between 8 and 13, in the mid-2000s.
White forced the victim to kiss him, and on another occasion he touched the girl inappropriately while she was on his shoulders.
White also encouraged his victim to kiss and rub his genitalia and forced an object into the girl’s genitalia.
After sexually assaulting the girl, White told the victim she couldn’t tell anyone about what he had done otherwise “bad things” would happen.
In a victim impact’s statement, the victim said she felt terrified and powerless.
“The crimes have made me uncomfortable with my body and feel unsafe just existing,” she said.
“I will forever be looking over my shoulder, scared of every car door, white flash of hair in a crowd or white beard that I see.”
Judge Liz Gaynor said White’s offending was degrading and callous.
“This was classic, predatory, pedophilic behaviour involving the remorseless exploitation of a vulnerable little girl for a period of years,” she said.
“You saw her quite clearly as an object for the satisfaction of your own perverted sexual lusts.”
White received non-parole period of eight years and nine months and was placed on the sex offender register for life.
Ashley Walsh
Ashley Walsh fronted the Melbourne County Court after he was found guilty of multiple counts of sexual crimes. Picture: Facebook.
A Morwell deviant who went behind his wife’s back and forced a 14-year-old girl to perform sexual acts has been jailed.
Ashley ‘Ash’ Walsh, 28, was sentenced in the County Court in May to a minimum four-year jail term after he was found guilty of multiple sexual penetration of a child under 16 charges.
Walsh violated his young victim in 2017.
The fiend made the child, who is not related to him, sit on his lap, a court was told.
Walsh also groped and touched his victim and grabbed the child by the hair and made her perform a lewd act
The vile grub violated the child while not wearing a condom.
Walsh covered his victim’s throat and mouth with his hands while violating her.
“Don’t tell anyone,” Walsh whispered.
The girl reported Walsh’s depravity to her mother.
“He asked me to sit on his lap and I did,” the victim said.
The defence submitted Walsh was placed in protective custody after arriving at Hopkins Correction.
The facility is in itself a prison which predominantly houses sex offenders – including some of Victoria’s worst child sex offenders – for their protection from mainstream prisoners.
Judge Michael McInerney said Walsh shows “no remorse” by “maintaining his innocence”.
Walsh, who was made a registered sex offender for 15 years, was jailed for a maximum five years and six months.
Nathaniel Roberts
Nathaniel Roberts pleaded guilty to multiple sexual penetration of a child under 16 charges. Picture: Facebook.
A Morwell pizza delivery man impregnated his 15-year-old victim then suggested she should get an abortion.
Nathaniel Roberts, 24, pleaded guilty in the County Court in April to multiple sexual penetration of a child under 16 charges.
The court heard the pair had a short relationship in late-2020.
In October, the teen told her mum she had been having a relationship with an older man and thought she was pregnant.
She did a pregnancy test which confirmed the pregnancy and told Roberts.
Roberts then told his victim he wanted her to have an abortion, before ending their relationship because he was scared he was going to get “in trouble”.
The court heard the victim’s doctor reported the relationship to the police and Roberts was arrested in December.
In a police interview, the Morwell man said the relationship is not “worth the trouble it can cause”.
Roberts had his bail extended for sentencing on June 28.
Harry Smith
A Yarram sex fiend who sexually assaulted an underage schoolgirl, leaving the victim’s mother traumatised, has been jailed.
Harry Smith, 20, was sentenced in the County Court in August 2021to a minimum nine months’ jail after pleading guilty to sexual penetration of a child under 16.
The court heard Smith assaulted his victim at Sale in September 2020 when he persistently demanded sexual acts of his victim before violating her near a park.
The prolonged attack left Smith’s underage schoolgirl with injuries.
Smith later apologised to his victim for causing the injuries but not the assault, the court heard.
Smith also attacked two police officers as they attempted to arrest him days after the assault.
His victim’s mother said she was now “constantly” looking out for her daughter.
“(My daughter) prefers to stay home where she is in a safe and secure environment … (I need to know) where she is at all times,” she said.
The mother said the incident caused stress and disagreements at home and led to the break up of a relationship.
The mother said she was “walking on eggshells” at home, has withdrawn from friends and “feels guilty” when she is “having fun”.
“I’m hurt that my daughter has had to go through this,” she said.
The mum said her daughter would often come into her bed “crying from nightmares”.
The fiend was jailed for a maximum 18 months and made a registered sex offender for life.
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