Sydney pedophile ex-policeman Mark Ward faces ‘more onerous’ time in jail, claims barrister

A pedophile former cop from southwestern Sydney has been in segregated custody ever since being arrested and charged with raping a year 7 boy he met on Grindr.

Mark Ward faced Campbelltown District Court on Wednesday for a sentencing hearing. Picture: Facebook

A pedophile former cop from southwestern Sydney has been in segregated custody ever since being arrested and charged with raping a year 7 boy he met on Grindr.

Mark Ward, who has also had careers as a flight attendant and as a real estate agent, has been in jail on remand since June, 2023, with the offender pleading guilty to having sexual intercourse with a child, using a carriage service to send indecent material to a person under 16 and possessing child abuse material earlier this year.

Ward, 49, appeared in Campbelltown District Court via video link on Wednesday for a sentencing hearing where his barrister David Mulligan submitted his client’s time in custody was “more onerous” than the “average inmate”.

Documents tendered in court state Ward contacted the victim on Grindr in 2017 at which point the predator was no longer with the NSW Police and was working as a flight attendant for Qantas.

Ward pushed the interactions with the year 7 boy onto Snapchat where he would send pictures in his police uniform as well as asking the child questions about sexual intercourse.

Mark Ward met the boy on gay dating app Grindr. Picture: Getty Images

The documents state he convinced the boy to let him come over to have sex and said “that’s cool with me” after the victim reiterated his age.

Ward performed a sexual act on the 14-year-old boy before the offender positioned himself on the child’s bed for intercourse.

The documents state Ward pleaded for the boy to continue, however, the victim forced him to leave fearing his family were about to return home.

The victim told a friend about the incident in 2023 before reporting it to police.

The documents state police set up a fake Grindr profile of a 14-year-old geolocated in Campbelltown which successfully caught the creep.

The documents state Ward asked for “nudes” and sent images including one in a black G-string as well as sexually charged messages.

Mark Ward will be sentenced in December. Picture: Facebook

“[I’m] with a friend … we’re watching porn and he has a couple of fingers stuck in my aaa (sic),” Ward said.

Police arrested Ward in mid 2023 at his St Andrews home where they seized a laptop, two iPhones and an iPad.

Court documents state police accessed Ward’s Telegram account and found messages with a user named “no lim perv”.

Ward’s messages said he could be “tempted” by boys younger than 12.

In court, Mr Mulligan submitted Ward’s time in custody was made more difficult, not only due to the nature of the offending, but also his history with the NSW Police. He also submitted certain offender programs were not available to Ward due to his custodial situation.

Mr Mulligan told the court the victim’s “willingness” had to be considered by Judge David Arnott when considering the objective seriousness of the offending.

The barrister noted Ward’s conduct against the minor, despite being caught by an undercover cop years later behaving in a seedy manner, “did not occur over a protracted period of time”.

Ward will be sentenced in December.

Got a court yarn? Email [e-mail]

Originally published as Sydney pedophile ex-policeman Mark Ward faces ‘more onerous’ time in jail, claims barrister