A Balgownie man who drove to the Southern Highlands to meet up with a 13-year-old girl he had sexually groomed online has been sentenced to five months jail, despite telling a court he was terrified his "small stature" and "sex offender" classification would make him a target in prison.
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Online gaming fan Samuel Berroya broke down in tears in Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday, hugging his father tightly before he was handcuffed and taken into custody to await his transfer to Silverwater jail.
The 25-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of travelling to meet a child for groomed sexual activity after it was revealed he had spent almost a month sending the teen sexually explicit messages, including videos of himself masturbating, before he drove to see her in a midnight rendezvous on Valentine's Day.
During his sentencing hearing, Berroya's lawyer, Elizabeth Parkes, described her client an "immature, very slight" young man.
She said Berroya had spent two nights in custody when arrested in February and had no desire to return to jail.
"He said it was very harrowing. He has genuine concerns for his physical wellbeing if he goes into custody because of his small physique and the charges [against him]," she said.
However, Magistrate Melissa Humphreys found full-time jail was the only appropriate sentence for Berroya.
She described the offence as a "modern" one and said a strong message had to be sent to the community that people who engaged in sexually explicit content online with children would find themselves behind bars.
The court heard Berroya and the teen met online in January and bonded over their love of the interactive video game Fortnite, exchanging more than 200 messages a day on Instagram.
While some of the messages were innocent in nature, many contained overtly sexual comments, including Berroya asking the teen if she was a virgin. He regularly commented on her body and encouraged her to send him pictures of herself, at one stage telling her "the only thing better than waking up to a sexy pic of u would be actually waking up next to u".
Berroya began telling the teen he loved her and she agreed to sneak out of her home in the early hours of the morning to meet up with Berroya at Moss Vale on Valentine's Day.
Berroya then drove her to the Mount Gibraltar Lookout at Bowral and asked her to be his girlfriend. She said yes, but refused his request for a kiss.
Meanwhile, the girl's father realised his daughter was missing from the home and contacted her.
He picked her up from the lookout - Berroya had already left by the time he got there - and drove her straight to the police station.
The teen made a full report to police a few days later, during which time Berroya sent her friend a message saying "I don't want to go to jail, I'll do anything but jail. I hope [she] still loves me."
Berroya was arrested on February 18.
He will be released on 10 months' parole in April next year.
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