Warwick child sex offenders named
From a serial predator convicted of 50 vile crimes involving children to a drug trafficker who used illicit substances to lure underage victims, here is the list of Warwick sex offenders:
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Theses are some of Warwick’s most vile crimes committed against those who are most vulnerable.
From a serial predator who pleaded guilty to almost 50 vile child sex crimes to a Warwick father-of-five who raped a young teenage girl, here is the list of offenders who fronted Warwick courts after exploiting children for their own pleasure.
Man admits to sex with 14yo
JAMIE EDWARD KRATZMANN
A man who admitted to having sex with a 14-year-old girl spent just days in jail after the defence counsel argued the encounter was consensual.
In December 2018, Jamie Edward Kratzmann was alone with the teenager in the kitchen of her home when he touched her breasts and genital area without her consent, after which the pair went to a caravan outside and had sex.
Kratzmann was convicted of one count of the indecent treatment of a child under 16 for touching the girl without her consent, but was acquitted of the other sexual assault and rape charges.
The 30-year-old was sentenced to six months‘ jail wholly suspended after seven days, three of which had already been served over the course of the court proceedings.
He will also be registered as a reportable child sex offender for the next five years.
When handing down his final verdict, Judge Ken Barlow said Kratzmann took advantage of a young girl and it should have been obvious to him that his actions were “inappropriate”.
Serial predator asks teenage girl to have sex
BRENDAN ASHLEY THOMAS
A Warwick man who pleaded guilty to almost 50 vile child sex crimes was busted after sending nudes to an undercover cop posing as a 13-year-old girl.
The Warwick District Court heard how Brendan Ashley Thomas sent about 150 messages asking his victim for nude photos or to video chat with him naked.
The text messages also discussed “rooting” and “finger banging”, which Crown prosecutor Elizabeth Kelso said was Thomas’ way of pushing the girl into doing these acts with him in public places.
The 25-year-old also asked his teenage victim to urinate on him.
Thomas pleaded guilty to 32 counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16, six counts of grooming a child under 16, and five counts of using electronic communication to procure a child under 16.
He also pleaded guilty to one count each of carnal knowledge of a child under 16, maintaining a sexual relationship with a child under 16, distributing child exploitation material, possessing child exploitation material, and making threats.
The Warwick man was sentenced to five years in jail with eligibility for release under a suspended sentence after 12 months.
He will also be subject to a three-year probation upon his release.
Father jailed for sexually abusing daughter, 6
A Southern Downs man has been sentenced to almost three years in jail for sexually abusing his six-year-old daughter in their home.
On an unknown date in 2013 or 2014, the 41-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, locked himself in a room with his daughter and performed a sex act over her.
Crown prosecutor Elizabeth Kelso told the court the man showed a “lack of remorse” for his actions in pleading not guilty to the crime, even after the verdict had been handed down.
The court also heard the 41-year-old had several mental health concerns, including adult ADHD and depression, and had lost his relationship with both his daughter and her older brother as a result of the abuse.
The man was convicted of one count of the indecent treatment of a child under 12 of lineal descent.
He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years‘ jail, but will be eligible for release halfway through and will go on to serve a four-year suspended sentence.
The 41-year-old will also be registered as a reportable child sex offender.
Drug trafficker offers girls drugs and money for sex
JOSEPHA SCOPELLITI-SEATON
A 21-year-old preyed on underage girls offering them drugs and money for sex.
The court heard that police learnt of Josepha Scopelliti-Seaton’s procurement of three 14-year-old girls through hundreds of messages where he coaxed them into having sex with him.
Scopelliti-Seaton had used Facebook Messenger to send photographs of his erect penis and images of adults having sex which were accompanied by explicit suggestions of what he wanted to do sexually with each girl.
Mostly, the girls rejected his approaches but he had supplied them drugs.
On one occasion a girl woke up next to Scopelliti-Seaton with her shirt undone and her shorts off, with the 21-year-old admitting to having sex with her.
Scopelliti-Seaton was sentenced to eight years in jail, with 22 months he had already spent in custody counting as time served.
Man jailed for rape almost 40 years after sex crimes against teenage girls
FRANK BEERENS
The court heard how a 27-year-old Frank Beerens used his body weight to hold down a young girl and rape her in a shocking sex attack.
Frank Beerens, now aged in his 60s, later threatened her, “If you tell anyone I s****ed you it will be your fault”.
The Leyburn man was found guilty of raping the teenage girl beside a dam at a Brisbane caravan park during the Christmas school holidays in 1984.
The court was told that at the time of the rape, Beerens was also committing sexual offences against another young girl.
He was later charged and pleaded guilty to four charges of indecent treatment of a child and was given a wholly suspended sentence at Warwick District Court in December last year.
Judge Devereaux noted the “long effect” Beerens‘s brazen offending had on the girl, who has had to ”tell the story over and over to different counsellors without relief”.
He was sentenced to seven years‘ jail but will be eligible for parole on May 27, 2022.
Man jailed over decades sexual abuse of 3yo
A Southern Downs man raped his stepsister’s younger daughter for almost a decade and threatened to kill her if she told anyone.
The 28-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, sexually assaulted the girl an unknown number of times from the time she was just three years old.
Crown prosecutor Stephen Muir told the court the man continued to “sexually exploit” his niece, visiting the girl an estimated 40 times across a five-year period, and had some kind of sexual contact with her most days.
The 28-year-old pleaded guilty to three counts of the indecent treatment of a child under 12 and one count of maintaining a sexual relationship with a child.
He was sentenced to five years‘ jail but will be eligible for parole in January after serving 18 months.
Warwick father-of-five jailed for raping girl, 13
LANCE ERNEST GEORGE AITKEN
A teenage girl said she still has nightmares years after a Warwick man raped her while she was still a virgin.
A Southern Downs man was jailed for raping a teenage girl three times as well as kissing her and making her watch him masturbate, despite her protests and without using protection.
The court heard Lance Ernest George Aitken digitally raped the girl, forced her to watch him masturbate, then raped her with his penis, taking her virginity.
While it was accepted Aitken did not use “gratuitous” violence during his offending, the court heard there was an element of force involving pushing and covering the mouth and neck of the victim.
Aitken was found guilty of three counts of rape and two counts of indecent treatment of a child under the age of 16 by a jury.
He was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment, with parole eligibility after serving three-and-a-half years.
Sex predator dad who violated young daughter for a decade
A Southern Downs man sexual abused his daughter for a decade, starting when she was just three years old.
The Warwick District Court heard how the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, sexually assaulted the girl on six occasions between 1981 and 1991.
Crown prosecutor Stephen Muir said the father “emotionally blackmailed” his daughter into hiding the abuse, saying they would lose their “wrong but special relationship” if anyone found out.
Judge Nathan Jarro denounced the man‘s offending as “abhorrent and inconceivable … depraved behaviour”.
The man pleaded guilty to three counts each of indecent treatment of a child aged under 14 and indecent treatment of a lineal descendant aged under 16.
He was sentenced to an additional 20 months’ jail, with parole eligibility in October 2022.
Predator jailed for vile sex abuse of foster daughter
A Southern Downs man has been sentenced to almost three years in jail for sexually abusing his six-year-old daughter in their home.
The 41-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, locked himself in a room with his daughter and performed a sex act over her.
Crown prosecutor Elizabeth Kelso told the court the man showed a “lack of remorse” for his actions in pleading not guilty to the crime, even after the verdict had been handed down.
The man was convicted of one count of the indecent treatment of a child under 12 of lineal descent.
He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years’ jail, but will be eligible for release halfway through and will go on to serve a four-year suspended sentence.
The 41-year-old will also be registered as a reportable child sex offender.
Man walks free after admitting to sexual abusing his 12yo sister several times as a teenager
A Southern Downs man sexually assaulted his 12-year-old sister on three occasions at their home between July 1, 1998 and December 31, 1999, when he was aged 15.
The Warwick District Court heard the now 37-year-old, who cannot be named, denied the allegations when questioned by police despite admitting to the abuse in a previous phone call with his sister.
A victim impact statement from the man‘s sister to the court outlined the “immense and ongoing impact” the crimes had on her daily life.
Defence barrister Jessica Goldie told the court her client expressed shame and remorse to his sister, describing how the memories “tormented” him.
“At that age, I definitely shouldn't have done what I did … I didn’t know what was right and what was wrong. It was wrong and it never should have happened,” Ms Goldie read from the phone call transcript.
The man pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent treatment of a child aged under 16, and one count of procuring a child under 16 to complete an indecent act.
He was sentenced to 12 months’ probation and no conviction was recorded.
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