Joshua George English charged with grooming, sex with teen

A Sunshine Coast food delivery driver has been denied bail after he allegedly groomed a 14-year-old girl and met up with her twice to have sex.

A Golden Beach UberEats worker has been denied bail and was remanded in custody after being charged with grooming a 14-year-old Sunshine Coast girl and engaging in sexual acts with her.

Joshua George English, 26, appeared via the video link in Maroochydore Magistrates Court on June 8, 2022 where it was alleged he had used the social media app Snapchat to message a girl between January 1, 2021 and April 27, 2022.

He allegedly used the username “whoneedsm5” with the account name attached being “Who Needs Money” to engage in sexual conversations and ask for sexual favours in exchange for money.

According to court documents, he negotiated prices with the child for her to engage in sex with him before meeting at her parents’ house while they were away on an unknown date in 2021.

“The child stated the defendant asked her age and she told him she was 14 and he didn’t do anything about it but continued to ask for sex,” the documents stated.

“The defendant told her he was 18-years-old.”

The child participated in a police interview and said the pair engaged in other sexual activity before having protected sex.

In return, Mr English allegedly gave the child $100 in cash before he continued to groom her by asking for nude pictures and videos while negotiating prices for a future sex meet up.

“On one occasion the defendant asked the child to wear her school uniform for him,” court documents stated.

The 14-year-old child had been chatting with Mr English on April 23, 2022, when she agreed to receiving $50 in exchange for “anything but anal sex”.

Joshua George English, 26, appeared via the video link in Maroochydore Magistrates Court where it was alleged he had used the social media application of Snapchat to message a girl between January 1, 2021 and April 27, 2022.

Arrangements were allegedly made where the child had to wait outside her house and he would attend in the early hours of the morning for them to have sex, court documents stated.

At 12.32am Mr English allegedly drove his 4WD to her house and parked underneath a street light.

The teenager snuck out of the house and allegedly engaged in sexual acts and intercourse with Mr English for three hours before he paid her $50 in cash and left for work.

The court documents stated he had over 2000 sexualised videos stored on his hard drive that police will allege he screen recorded from Snapchat.

The Sunshine Coast Child Protection Unit and Taskforce Argos executed a warrant at Golden Beach on Tuesday where Mr English was arrested.

“These (charges) relate to him grooming young people online, and then unlawful carnal knowledge of underage females,” Senior Sergeant Phil Hurst said.

“As part of that investigation, we’ve also seized a large amount of computer equipment which clearly indicates there’s potential for other victims to be out there in the community that have been groomed by this person through online chat rooms and platforms.

“Police are calling on anyone who has been groomed online or approaching them for sexual favours report them to police.”

Sergeant Hurst said the investigation was launched after the alleged 14-year-old victim reported the incident to police.

“We’re following up on potential other victims,” he said.

Senior Sergeant Phil Hurst says a 26-year-old Golden Beach man was arrested on June 7 over allegations he groomed a young teenager online. Picture: Aisling Brennan

Sergeant Hurst urged parents to have a conversation with their children about online safety and urged anyone who had been in contact with the username “whoneedsm5” to report it.

“On the computer material we have seized, it’s clear there are a potential large amount of other victims who may still be in the community that have not reported to the police,” he said.

“We ask for these people to come forward if you have been a victim and seek assistance of police.

“It’s important for the community in general for parents to have a conversation with their kids about online safety and people engaging them online,” he said.

Mr English was charged with two counts of having carnal knowledge of a child under 16, one count of using the internet to procure children and one count of using the internet to procure children under 16 and intentionally meeting the child.

He was also charged with possessing dangerous drugs, possessing a utensil and producing dangerous drugs.

Duty lawyer Michael Robinson said if granted bail, Mr English could have restrictions on his phone that would allow police to track his activity.

Mr Robinson said his client had never been in trouble with the law before and was still a relatively young man that would be residing with his family.

Police prosecutor Lee Allen said Mr English’s alleged actions were “sophisticated” and “relentless”.

Senior Constable Allen said Mr English would be at a high risk of reoffending and interfering with witnesses.

Magistrate Rod Madsen agreed and denied the 26-year-old bail due to the “significant” risks of him reoffending.

Mr English will remain in custody until his next court date on October 14, 2022.

Originally published as Joshua George English charged with grooming, sex with teen