Mario Kriska: Altona North paedophile jailed after targeting girls on Snapchat, KiK

The quick-thinking actions of a child abuse victim’s father has led to the caging of a depraved Altona North sex predator.

An Altona North sex fiend has been jailed after using social media apps including Snapchat to target young children. Picture: Generic

A child sex fiend used Snapchat and KiK to prey on girls as young as 13 years old, a court has heard.

Mario Kriska, 43, was jailed for three years and 10 months in the County Court on Monday after a tip-off from the concerned father of a 13-year-old British girl led to the discovery of his disgusting crimes.

The court heard Kriska found the overseas teen on mobile apps Snapchat and KiK in September 2018 and began sending her vile content under display names including ‘bigdaddy’.

Kriska, who told the girl he was 36 years old, sent his victim a video of his erect genitalia along with disgusting comments.

“You told her what you wanted her to do to you, you asked her to (perform lewd acts) and moan,” Judge Patricia Riddell said.

The court heard the predator phoned the girl’s home number multiple times, telling her father he was a “counsellor” who was helping with the teen’s depression.

The girl’s father uncovered explicit messages on the family’s tablet and alerted his daughter’s school counsellor, with the school’s management quickly phoning police.

Despite the man telling Kriska to cease messaging his daughter, Kriska continued, claiming the father was a “bad person” if he didn’t want to “have love”.

“Love, my father in law, true love,” he wrote to the man on Facebook messenger.

The court heard the father intercepted a hamper of chocolates, makeup and perfume sent by Kriska to the family home in December 2018.

The sicko continued sending depraved messages to the girl, claiming he wanted to marry her and get her pregnant.

British police alerted Australian authorities to Kriska’s behaviour on January 3, 2019, with officers pouncing on his Altona North property one week later.

Inside Kriska’s home was handwritten diary entries expressing his love for the girl and a mobile phone containing 175 images and 95 videos depicting child pornography.

The phone also contained explicit images of Kriska’s victim and communications with two other children, the court was told.

Kriska told officers he’d “fallen in love” with the first victim.

“It happened quickly … she wasn’t in a good place,” he said.

The two other victims, who Kriska contacted on KiK, have not been identified.

Phone records unveiled more messages sent to the children, including Kriska asking if they wanted to be called a teen w****, or horny s***.

The court heard Kriska’s criminal history dated back to 1998 and was littered with dishonesty and drug possession.

Kriska lacked motivation in school and completed odd building and painting jobs with his father throughout his working life.

Judge Riddell said Kriska had “limited friendships” and began using cannabis at the age of 16 before moving onto heroin and meth.

“At the end of the lens are young girls … there is ongoing harm as they grow up and realise those images are there indefinitely,” she said.

“The fact you preyed on a 13-year-old child is despicable.”

Kriska, who had already spent 469 days in custody, will serve two years and eight months before he is eligible for parole.

He was made a registered sex offender for life.