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The parents of a boy who was procured for sexual activity by a man via a mobile phone want others to know it can happen to anyone.
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Scott Paul Malthouse, 47 from Shafer Street, Red Rock appeared in the Port Macquarie District Court on March 14.
Malthouse appeared on the charge of using a carriage service to procure a person under 16-years-old for sexual activity.
He was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of two years and directed to be released at the expiration of 12 months of the sentence upon him entering a recognizance pursuant to s20(1)(b) Crime Act 1914.
The mother of the boy said she became aware of the communication between Malthouse and her son after seeing part of a message flash up on his mobile phone.
The communication between the boy and Malthouse started when he was 12-years-old. He is now 14-years-old.
She said she didn’t recognise the name of the person but the content of the message was sexual in nature.
The boy’s parents said he didn’t want to talk to them about the messaging because he was afraid he would get into trouble.
They understand it is difficult for adults to be aware of everything their children are accessing online.
“We might not be aware of something because they could be delete it but then reloaded the next day,” the mother said.
She said it was important for her children to have phones so she could communicate with them if she needed to.
When the sentence was read out on March 14 it was heard by Hastings Secondary College Westport Campus Year 11 students who had attended court for an excursion.
The parents of the boy said it was an example of how education is important in making children aware of the serious nature of the act.
Through text messaging Malthouse found out where the boy played sport and was in the vicinity during his training.
The boy’s parents said children in today’s community can be overly confident.
“They believe they are in control over a particular situation and that they can handle it,” the stepfather said.
The parents want to relay the message that bad things can happen and they can happen extremely rapidly.
“There are people out there that want to do you harm,” the boy’s stepfather said.
While they are relieved nothing physical happened to their son they want parents to be hyper-vigilant and conduct random inspections of their children’s phones.
Their 14-year-old son is now undergoing counselling.
Police urge parents and children to be mindful of the dangers associated with the internet.
Safe internet use – tips for parents:
- Be aware of how much time your child spends on the internet.
- Spend time talking to your child about the dangers associated with online conversations, particularly when communicating with someone that they have only ever met on-line.
- Spend time exploring the internet with your children and let them teach you about their favourite websites and applications.
- Keep computers or internet-enabled devices in a room the whole family can access, not in your child's bedroom; monitor internet access on those devices.
- Consider installing filtering and/or computer blocking software provided by your internet service provider. The Netalert web page provides information on a number of commercially-available products at www.netalert.net.au.
- Ensure you are able to access your child's email and social media accounts and randomly check the contents.
- Check your phone bill for unusual outgoing calls and consider using 'caller ID' to identify incoming calls.
- Consult your telephone company for options designed to ensure privacy and security.
- Enquire with your child's school, public library, and places they frequent to find out what internet safety measures they have in place.
- Information on internet safety is available on the NSW Police website
Tips for children:
- Do not send a picture of yourself to anyone you don't know and never place a full profile and picture anywhere on the internet.
- Never give out your personal information, including full name, home address, phone number or school, over the internet.
- Never arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone that you have only ever chatted with on the internet.
- Tell your parents or another adult you know of any contact that makes you feel uncomfortable.
