By Jessica McSweeney, Clare Sibthorpe and Perry Duffin
A woman who called herself “leader of The Pack” was allegedly directing a child abuse ring from inside a NSW prison, police say.
Jessica Isabelle Rose, 31, a transgender woman formerly known as Dean Angus Bell, allegedly directed a group of inmates who called themselves “The Pack” to share letters detailing the sexual abuse of children and plans to abuse more children in the future.
Jessica Rose, previously known as Dean Angus Bell.Credit: Daily Mail/Matrix
The group allegedly wrote accounts based on real-life experiences of abusing children, as well as assaults they planned to commit after release – with murder allegedly mentioned in one of the stories.
The group allegedly passed the stories between them at Junee Correctional Centre, a men’s prison.
Police became aware of the alleged child abuse ring in April as part of Strike Force Edits, which was established to uncover the distribution of child abuse material in NSW prisons.
The inmate was arrested at Junee Correctional Centre on Tuesday.Credit: Google Maps
Sex crimes detectives identified the group of inmates as part of their investigation and arrested Rose at Junee Correctional Centre on Tuesday.
The size of “The Pack” will form part of investigations, but police believe a significant number of inmates could be involved, due to the amount of child abuse material allegedly being created.
The priority for police was to arrest the alleged leader and disperse the group, with more arrests expected in the near future.
Rose was taken to Wagga Wagga police station and charged with eight counts of producing child abuse material, eight counts of disseminating the material, and knowingly directing a criminal group. Bail was not applied for and was formally refused. She will next face court on October 23.
If you or anyone you know needs help, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 (and see lifeline.org.au), the National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service (1800RESPECT) on 1800 737 732, or Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800.
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