Australian Darts Team captain looking at jail time for sex crimes

A Tasmanian darts champion who paid a Filipino mother to procure little girls to perform online sex shows for him while he masturbated over Skype has pleaded guilty to 10 charges.

A TASMANIAN darts champion who paid a Filipino mother to procure little girls to perform online sex shows for him while he masturbated over Skype has pleaded guilty to 10 charges.

Rodney James Bessell, 64, a miner who used to own a jewellery and trophy shop in Burnie, pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court in Burnie on Thursday to encouraging the procurement of a child to engage in sexual activity, engaging in a sexual act with a child (other than sexual intercourse), causing child abuse material to be transmitted and possessing child abuse material.

The offending happened in September 2019 after Bessell became friends with a woman from the Philippines online.

She then introduced him to the mother who got the children for him.

Rodney Bessell.

The father of three - who was Australian Darts Team captain until 2019 - paid just over $100 for the online sex shows after which he asked the woman if the “young ones liked seeing his cock” and “if they enjoyed touching each other.”

The girls were about 12 years old at the time, the court heard.

Crown prosecutor Krista Breckweg said Bessell participated in child sex tourism despite not travelling to the Philippines and paid a paltry amount for “the pleasure”of his offending.

Ms Breckweg told the court Bessell had admitted to the AFP that he knew the children were under 16 and had set up a World Remit bank account specifically to use in the transactions.

Bessell’s lawyer Greg Richardson argued his client was not part of a child sex ring and no penetration of the children had occurred.

He said Bessell had already suffered for his crimes.

Rodney Bessell playing darts

“He is now out of work and despite being a native Tasmanian cannot live here due to embarrassment,” Mr Richardson said.

He asked Justice Tamara Jago to consider imposing a suspended jail term when she sentences Bessell later this month.

But Ms Breckweg said the suggestion Bessell receive a suspended jail term was “fanciful.”

“He knew these children were effectively being pimped out by their mother and only stopped his conduct because his wife found out,” she said.

The maximum punishment for encouraging the procurement of a child to engage in sexual activity is 20 years in jail, the court was told.

“He said it would be ‘more yummy’ if the children were virgins and asked specifically for young ones,” Ms Breckweg said.

Bessell will be sentenced on October 21.