Roderick Mentha, 28, pleads guilty to to arranging to meet up with 12yo girl in Alice Springs for sex

A 28-year-old man has pleaded guilty to a string of ‘abhorrent’ child sex offences.

A 28-YEAR-OLD Alice Springs man who procured sexually explicit material from a 12-year-old girl and arranged to meet up with her for sex has pleaded guilty to a string of “abhorrent” child sex offences.

Roderick Mentha appeared in the NT Supreme Court on Friday over an online relationship he developed with a girl who told him she was 12 and he had told her he was 14-16 at various times.

Over the course of about four months, Mentha procured dozens of sexually explicit photos and videos of the girl over SMS, MMS, Facebook and WhatsApp, which he then distributed to others online.

The court heard Mentha told the girl he was “catching feelings” for her and at one point asked her: “Will you be my girlfriend?”

According to the prosecution, an Australian Federal Police (AFP) covert employee took over the girl’s online identity after a separate arrest identified Mentha as having been in communication with the girl.

In February, 2021, Mentha drove in his Blue Holden Commodore to the Anzac Oval carpark with the purpose of meeting up with the girl and engaging in sexual activity, after it was arranged by the covert AFP employee.

The court heard Mentha parked his car, took a photo of the female undercover officer – who he believed was the girl – and arranged to meet at the oval’s entrance gates.

As Mentha began to approach the officer, police swooped in and arrested him.

The court heard Mentha offered to pay the girl as an inducement.

Defence lawyer John McBride described his client’s offending as “abhorrent”, “vulgar”, and “an abuse of trust”.

Justice Judith Kelly rejected a request by the prosecution to tender a sample of images procured by Mentha into evidence, arguing the descriptions provided were “sufficiently explicit”.

Roderick Mentha, 28, will be sentenced in January, 2022. Picture: Supplied

“The fact that this man was prepared to go to those lengths to participate in that sort of grubby, vulgar correspondence with someone he believed to be a 12-year-old girl and persistently making requests for her to engage in rather nasty sexual activities sexual activities with him is an extreme worry,” Justice Kelly said.

“What possible assurance can the court have – that when he’s released from whatever term of imprisonment that he faces – that he won’t do exactly the same thing to a real 12-year-old girl?”

Justice Kelly read out parts of an apology letter written by Mentha, which stated: “I was caught up with something that I now know was wrong” and “I’m truly sorry for what happened”.

Mentha will return to the NT Supreme Court on January 28, 2022 for sentencing.