Inside the depraved, sick world of the Evil 8 paedophile ring in Western Australia

THE details of their crime are sickening. This is how the “Evil 8” made their horrifying attack on a young girl happen. WARNING: Graphic content.

THEY met through Craigslist. A handful of men who didn’t know each other and who ultimately become part of a group now known as the Evil 8.

One of the ads was placed by the father of a now 14-year-old girl. In the ad he described himself as a “lonely single parent looking for friendship”. He also mentioned that he was seeking modelling opportunities for his daughter.

From there other connections were made, through internet forums, or again through Craigslist with men who all had a common love. Of depravity.

The father pleaded guilty to raping his daughter, watching as the other men did the same thing, making her wear bondage attire, filming her and drugging her. In some cases he watched the paedophiles as they molested his daughter and treated her like a “sex object”.

The girl’s father answered one ad that one of the men, Dawid Volmer, placed on Craigslist offering sexual massages.

Volmer went on to have sex with the man’s daughter on three occasions — which included drugging and blindfolding her — while her father sat close by in the same room.

Another man, Benjamin Simon Clarke, was sentenced to three years’ jail for indecently abusing and taking naked and almost naked photographs of the girl after her father, once again, answered an online ad Clarke had placed.

The father asked him if he wanted to “do more” to his daughter and she was then abused as she lay naked on a mattress.

Mark Wesley Liggins was also charged as part of Operation Ripstop and was sentenced to more than two years behind bars in May.

Dawid Volmer, or David Volmer, who was jailed for his role in the paedophile ring.

He used an online forum to engage in sexual conversations and exchange nude photographs with children, but he was never charged with offences related to the girl. Instead, he was caught in the sting because he had been in communication with the girl’s father, which then led to his home being raided.

The abuse either took place in the father’s own home, the homes of the men or sometimes in hotel rooms.

The appalling case has been called one of the worst ever seen in Western Australia. Details began to emerge last year when the father, aged 43, was jailed for 22.5 years in what was one of the longest terms imposed by the WA District Court.

The father is appealing his sentence in the WA Court of Appeal, claiming his jail term is manifestly excessive.

Strict suppression orders prevent news.com.au from identifying the father in order to protect the identity of his victim, his daughter.

Yesterday Ryan Trevor Clegg, 43, was jailed for 12 years 9 months, joining the other Evil 8 accused already behind bars.

The court heard Clegg said in an online chat that: “Sometimes I think she does like it. I’m gentle with her.”

When the father was finally caught he told detectives he did have some regrets. But then he astonishingly said it had been “fun while it lasted” while admitting things “went way over the line”. He told them he wanted to leave “the scene” and go back to being a normal member of society.

The abuse of his daughter took place between 2013 and 2015 and occurred after the girl was living with him after the end of her parents’ marriage.

The shocking facts of the case were laid bare last year by Judge Philip Eaton, who told the father’s sentencing of the disgraceful web the man created.

The girl was abused over a two-year period.

His actions demonstrated a “high degree of depravity and exploitation”.

“You allowed strangers to treat your daughter as a sexual object and you treated her the same yourself,” he said.

Prosecutor Justin Whalley said the father’s actions were nothing like what a “proper parent” should be. Instead of protecting her, he said, he allowed her to be violated and exposed “to “depravity of the highest order”.

In some instances, the victim was forced to dress in “bondage” gear and pose in sexually explicit ways for photographs.

Videos of the abuse were sometimes made — including of her tied to a bed, gagged, wearing a dog collar that had the word “bitch” on it.

Judge Eaton told the man’s sentencing hearing the man’s actions would likely have lasting and irreparable consequences for his daughter, who was now 14, and maintained an attitude of loyalty to her father despite everything he had put her through.

The man did not pimp out his daughter for money rather for his own sexual gratification, the judge said.

THE EVIL 8

JAILED VICTIM’S FATHER

Raped and pimped the girl but cannot be named to protect her identity, was sentenced in June last year to 22-and-a-half years. Earliest release date is October 2035. He’s appealing, arguing the term is manifestly excessive

RYAN TREVOR CLEGG

Pleaded guilty to 15 charges, including sexually penetrating and indecently recording a child, and was jailed in January for 12 years and nine months. Eligible for parole after 10 years and nine months. His case sparked outrage when it emerged he lived close to a child care centre while on bail and was then taken into custody

DAWID VOLMER

Former pastor and father-of-two was sentenced in November 2015 to 10-and-a-half years after admitting he stupefied the blindfolded girl with an inhalant and raped her in front of her father. Eligible for parole after eight-and-a-half years

NICHOLAS ADAM BEER

Admitted sexually abusing the girl alongside her father while she was shackled to a bed and forced to wear bondage gear. Sentenced in September last year to seven years, eligible for parole after five years
TROY PHILLIP MILBOURNE

Had a shower with the girl and then had sex with her. He pleaded guilty to seven charges, including sexual penetration of a child, and was sentenced in November last year to five years and three months. Parole eligibility after three years and three months

BENJAMIN SIMON CLARKE

Was sentenced in June last year to three years after pleading guilty to 12 charges, including indecently recording and dealing with a child, admitting he photographed the girl wearing lingerie and nude at an abandoned mine site. Eligible for parole after 18 months

MARK WESLEY LIGGINS

Was arrested as part of the investigation into the Evil 8 network but was not charged with offences against the girl.

PLEADED NOT GUILTY — ALFRED JOHN IMPICCIATORE

Has pleaded not guilty to several charges and will face a trial later this year.

—with Perth Now and AAP