A Sydney father struggling to cope with pandemic lockdowns acted out of fantasy when he engaged in sexual conversations online with someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl.
Ruijie Cui faced a sentence hearing at Sydney's District Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty earlier this year to using a carriage service to groom a person under 16 for sex and sending indecent material.
The 39-year-old was in fact talking to an undercover police officer during the interactions mid-last year and would be arrested five weeks later.
During the hearing, Cui's lawyer argued his client was using a chat room meant for adults and had not been trawling the internet for the purpose of talking to young people.
The offending was unplanned and unsophisticated, with Cui giving his real name for a Skype call before failing to follow that or a potential phone conversation up, the court heard.
Cui told the hearing he was seeing a psychologist to help deal with a depressive disorder, which combined with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to his offending.
"I've learned from my offence I should be consistent with my behaviour if someone's watching me or not watching me," he said.
"If it's something I wouldn't do in real life, I shouldn't do that in cyberspace."
Judge Robert Newlinds said he believed Cui to be remorseful, but if he had been talking to a real 13-year-old girl he would have caused real harm.
"I do understand how cyberspace is a weird place and people often act in a way that's out of character," he said.
"Lots of people might be wandering around the community with all sorts of sexual interests. They don't necessarily act on them … although he has."
Judge Newlinds said the offence was serious, despite some alleviating factors, and a message of general deterrence needed to loom large in determining a sentence.
Cui spent 65 days in jail, much of which was in protective custody, following his arrest last year.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday.
