Jake Thomas Vandermeel court case unfolds revealing alleged international connection
Another alleged underage victim – who lives overseas – has emerged in the online sextortion case against Mid-North Coast man Jake Vandermeel, who stands accused of threatening to abduct, rape and murder a child.
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Another alleged underage victim – who lives overseas – has emerged in the online sextortion case against Mid-North Coast man Jake Vandermeel, who stands accused of threatening to abduct, rape and murder a child.
Coffs Harbour Local Court heard this week that a young child overseas is also a potential victim of Vandermeel, who is accused of a number of vile child sexual abuse offences.
Vandermeel faced a fresh charge of grooming a child to engage in sexual activity outside Australia when he appeared in court on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old was arrested more than six months ago on October 16 last year at a Safety Beach home, north of Coffs Harbour by the Sex Crimes Squad.
During the most recent court proceedings, Vandermeel appeared steadfast and non-emotional as the court heard there was a “voluminous” amount of pages in the police brief, which includes more than 7,800 pages of online communications.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Oats requested an extension before charge certification to go over the “time-consuming” evidence.
Defence solicitor Mr Hull opposed the police application for an adjournment as it is outside the six month period for charges to be certified.
Magistrate Julia Virgo considered the “very lengthy” nature of the documents and granted a two-week adjournment “in the interests of justice”.
She described the case as “some of the more serious charges” the court has ever dealt with.
Vandermeel will return to court on July 7, facing the fresh charge for grooming an overseas child and using a carriage service to groom a child under 16, threatening serious harm and to kill, to do or plan harm to a person under 16 and to accessing and soliciting child abuse material.
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