Murray Bridge man Troy Stephen Adam Lang became ‘fascinated’ with porn after watching it at 5yo, court told

A man who wished he could have children to sexually abuse was photographing young girls at a local caravan park before he was arrested, a court has heard.

A “sexually and socially frustrated” man who started watching pornography at just five years old ended up producing and distributing child exploitation material on his own website, a court has heard.

Troy Steven Adam Lang, 25, appeared in the District Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to seven child sexual offences – with prosecution alleging Lang had even “expressed a wish” to a woman that he wanted to start a family with her, just to sexually abuse his children.

Defence counsel said their client was a “grossly psychologically inadequate” man whose life had been “corrupted” by internet pornography.

Porn had, he said, led to Lang developing “amorous sexual behaviours as an adult”.

“It started around the age of five,” he said. “He became fascinated, he became mesmerised.

“He is a sexually and socially frustrated man because he has never had a girlfriend to become sexually active with, he does not know how to date or socialise with women. He’s never kissed a woman, never had a girlfriend, he’s never been on a date, he is still a virgin.”

It was further submitted that Lang could vividly recall an occasion during kindergarten when he first remembered “feeling this way” towards women.

“He was on a bus being chaperoned by a female student in year 7,” Lang’s defence counsel said. “He was on the lap of that student and was falling asleep … it was one of the most powerful memories that he has had through his life and he wonders whether there is a nexus between that and his interests.”

Murray Bridge man Troy Lang appeared in the District Court after pleading guilty to multiple child sexual offences. Picture: 9 News

Lang pleaded guilty to seven offences including three counts of disseminating child exploitation material and charges of producing child exploitation material, aggravated making a child amenable to sexual activity and hosting a website dealing with child exploitation material.

The offences are alleged to have occurred in Murray Bridge and elsewhere in South Australia.

The mother of a victim told the court that Lang had been a trusted friend and she felt she could no longer trust anyone.

Murray Bridge man Troy Steven Adam Lang in custody. Picture: 9 News

Lang was arrested on January 8 after a tip-off from Queensland Police Service’s Taskforce Argos and appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on January 9.

The prosecution submitted Lang’s behaviour was “escalating” prior to his eventual arrest as he began taking photographs of girls around a local caravan park.

“It may very well have been hypothetical on Mr Lang’s part and he never intended to act upon it, but in relation to several of the women he was communicating with, he expressed a very strong desire to travel to America to move in with their family and talked about the sexual abuse he would perpetrate on the women’s children on a daily basis,” they said.

“In relation to another woman, he expressed a wish to effectively create a family with her for the expressed purpose of sexually abusing his children.”

Judge Michelle Sutcliffe ordered Lang a home detention report and remanded him in custody until November.

Originally published as Murray Bridge man Troy Stephen Adam Lang became ‘fascinated’ with porn after watching it at 5yo, court told