Bradley Watson, 44, jailed at Bendigo Magistrates’ Court for grooming, stalking teenage girls

A Goulburn Valley businessman jailed for grooming teenage girls for nudes and sex has flagged an appeal just minutes after being taken into custody.

Bradley Watson pleaded guilty to stalking and grooming teenage girls.

A family businessman and prominent member of a small Goulburn Valley community jailed for grooming teenage girls for nudes and sex has flagged an appeal just minutes after being taken into custody.

Bradley Watson, 44, was jailed for six months at Bendigo Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to stalking teenage girls, inciting them to send him sexually explicit images and for sexual acts.

Police, in 2020, busted him “using subterfuge” to create “multiple fake profiles” to groom the teenage girls — aged between 15 and 16 — for “nudes” and asking one teen to meet him at a public toilet for sexual acts.

Watson was jailed for six months.

His lawyer said Watson had shown “remorse” for stalking of the teen girls.

Just minutes after he was taken into custody, the lawyer told the court the sex offender was making a bid for bail and would appeal the jail sentence.

Watson was until recently a prominent and respected member of the small Goulburn Valley town where he lives.

The father-of-four was heavily involved in the local community, volunteering with the local football and netball club and ran a family business with his parents.

But community outcry after the charges were laid had left his reputation in tatters, his lawyer told the court.

Seven victim impact statements were read in court from the victims and their parents, with the teenagers describing a life lived in fear and anxiety after Watson’s predation.

One of his victims said it made her “skin crawl” that a person she “trusted” could hurt her in such a sick way.

Watson’s victim’s told the court his offending left them living in fear.

“(A man) who cooked snags on the barbecue at ... events … I feel like I could throw up,” she said.

She said she was scared he would “take” her after she refused to send him nudes or meet him in a public toilet block.

The victim said she often woke screaming from nightmares that Watson was watching her.

All of his victims said they were scared to go out in public, including to sporting or social events, out of fear of running into Watson.

“I’m scared of running into Brad everywhere I go,” another victim said.

“I’m scared he will try to contact me again. I’m confused and angry as to why he did this to me.”

The victims’ parents said they were fearful while Watson was on bail as their children left the house for work and school, and angry that he was allowed out while they had to avoid him.

One victim’s mother said she felt “helpless to stop the harassment”.

She recalled the rage she felt when she saw Watson at a local footy game walking around with his family and “staring at her daughter”.

“We’ve had to avoid certain places, including netball games, for fear of running into him. I’m angry that my family has had to go through so much pain,” she said.

Watson was supported by his family in court who sat stoically.

The court heard Watson ran a family business with his parents, and argued if he was jailed it would make life difficult for his family and the business, not just him.

Watson left his victim’s traumatised.

In arguing for Watson to not receive jailtime, his lawyer said he had been “dealing with suicidal ideations”.

However, the police prosecutor argued Watson’s sentence needed to meet the expectations of the community and only a “significant term of imprisonment” would tell the victims there was justice.

Magistrate Dominic Lennon said Watson’s offending was “protracted”, “planned” and “abhorrent”, convicting and sentencing him to six months in prison and placing him on the sex offenders’ registry for 15 years.

Watson’s bail bid will be heard on Wednesday at the Bendigo Magistrates’ Court.