Sandy Bay eBay vendor pleads guilty to importing child sex doll parts from China
A Sandy Bay man and eBay vendor has pleaded guilty to importing 26 sex doll body parts with a “childlike appearance” into Tasmania. FULL COURT WRAP-UP >>
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A SANDY Bay resident and eBay vendor has pleaded guilty to importing 26 child sex doll body parts into Tasmania.
The silicone parts first arrived in Melbourne in September last year, in a shipping container that also contained a range of legal masturbation aids like adult sex doll parts, lubricant and vibrators, the Supreme Court of Tasmania heard on Monday.
Chinese national Xinzhe Lin, 29, appeared before Justice Gregory Geason and pleaded guilty to importing tier two goods — namely child abuse material.
It was accepted by the Crown that Lin did not have a personal interest in the child body parts, but had rather imported them for personal financial gain.
Crown prosecutor Rose Bollard said the shipment from Shenzhen, China, was intercepted by Australian Border Force, with officers finding silicone body parts with a “childlike appearance” that “appeared to be designed for sexual gratification”.
The consignment was delivered to Lin’s address — then at South Hobart — and he signed for it, with his home later searched by Tasmania Police and Australian Federal Police.
Lin, who ran an eBay store selling surfboards and surfboard pieces, admitted that he’d imported the consignment, with a worker in China who helped purchase items from large distributors.
Ms Bollard said Lin, who is on a temporary visa should be immediately imprisoned.
“We know the defendant was importing these child sex doll parts for a financial purpose, for personal financial gain,” she said.
“As the defendant admitted, he intended to sell them on eBay … that didn’t happen because they were seized.”
She said Lin’s actions potentially contributed to the normalisation of child abuse.
“This kind of material has the capacity to normalise the sexualising of children but also grow demand for the material,” she said.
“They are purchased to be sold to people that have an interest in this kind of material … obviously these dolls are designed for and intended to simulate sexual contact with children.”
Ms Bollard said it wasn’t the first time Lin had imported the body parts — having arrived in Melbourne from Hong Kong in 2019 and being issued with a warning and a seizure notice.
Defence barrister Greg Barns SC said Lin’s conduct was “reckless, it was foolish” and that he was “ashamed and embarrassed of his conduct” but emphasised he had no “attraction to these items or use for these items, other than to sell them.
“He pursued the sale of these childlike dolls because they were cheaper to import,” he said.
He agreed with the suggestion Lin’s behaviour had been “wilful blindness”.
Justice Geason ordered a pre-sentence report with an assessment of Lin’s suitability for home detention.
Lin, who is on bail, will return to court on July 28 for sentence.
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