Benjamin Ng exchanged sex pics online with 14-year-old girl, Toowoomba District Court told

A lonely and socially isolated 18-year-old boy befriended a 14-year-old girl over social media but the connection took a dark turn when he manipluated her to take photos of her breasts, buttocks and vagina. See how the court dealt with him.

Loneliness had driven an 18-year-old Toowoomba man to resort to the internet to procure a 14-year-old girl with whom he exchanged sexual videos and photographs.

Benjamin Ng had low level social skills and few friends and had spent much of his time in his bedroom on his iPad, Toowoomba District Court heard.

However, his internet use expanded to befriending a 14-year-old girl in February initially via a video game platform and then Snapchat.

Crown prosecutor Emily Coley told the court the teenager had eventually requested photos of the girl’s breasts, buttocks and vagina and she had complied.

He in return had sent the 14-year-old photographs of his penis and a video of him performing a sex act on himself, she said.

Acting on an anonymous tip, police attended Ng’s home and seized his iPad on which he had 24 photographs of the girl, Ms Coley said.

Police also found Ng had started conversing with another 14-year-old girl who he had asked for similar photographs but she had refused, saying she felt “uncomfortable” and their exchanges ceased, she said.

When arrested, Ng told police what he had been doing, adding “it’s not OK, I guess. I need to see someone”, Ms Coley said.

Ng, now 19, pleaded guilty to two counts of using an electronic device to procure a child under 16, two counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16 and one of possessing child exploitation material.

His barrister David Jones told the court his client had been seeing a psychologist before the offending and was still receiving counselling.

At the time, his client had been a “loner” and “recluse” and the offending stemmed from him being unhappy and lonely, he said.

”He’s now starting to grow up but he’s still immature,” Mr Jones submitted.

Judge Alexander Horneman-Wren told Ng ordinarily such offending called for a jail term.

“I have to be satisfied there are exceptional circumstances not to send you to jail and the Crown prosecutor has quite fairly submitted there are exceptional circumstances,” he said.

However, Judge Horneman-Wren said he also had to have regard to the effect the offending had on the two victims, one of whom had described feeling “yukky, dirty and used”.

Accepting that Ng was remorseful and taking into account his youth and that he had no previous criminal history, Judge Horneman-Wren ordered the convictions not be recorded and placed Ng on three years probation.