A former deputy principal has been sent off to jail after sending protracted sexually explicit chats to someone he thought was a 14-year-old teenage girl.
In sentencing Damian Scott Wanstall today, Judge Andrew Colefax asked how as a father, he could discuss sexual acts and arrange to meet up with someone so young for that purpose.
"You're a parent yourself Mr Wanstall. How do you imagine parents would react to knowing that their 14-year-old daughter was being preyed upon by a man like you? Because that's what you were doing," he said in Parramatta District Court.
The 49-year-old was sprung by undercover police on December 7, 2020 after posting an online classified advertisement under the heading: "Any legal Indian or Filo teens want fun."
The ad read: "40yo Aussie daddy seeking sexy play this weekend. Will reward. Can host discreetly Rouse Hill".
Arriving at what he thought was the meet-up point in the Sydney suburb of Westmead with $200 in his pocket, he was greeted by sex crimes officers who placed him under arrest.
Wanstall has been sentenced to a maximum prison term of three years and seven months, expiring on December 16, 2026.
His non-parole period will be two years, expiring on May 16, 2025.
In handing down his judgment, Judge Colefax rejected Wanstall's claims he was drunk while texting the purported teen as he had sent the messages on a Thursday and Friday during work hours while presumably at school and not drinking.
Submissions he had placed the original ad as "bait" to rekindle his relationship with his former partner or make her jealous were also dismissed.
The judge found the offending - one charge of using a carriage service to procure a child under 16 for sexual activity - was in the mid-range of seriousness.
"On this occasion, something that is part of you, that is a sexual interest in young people below the age of consent emerged," Judge Colefax said.
"But for the fact it was an online assumed personality, you would have carried through what it was you had intended to do."
The chats were not a one-off event but rather consisted of dozens of texts, some sexually explicit, over several days.
"It wasn't spontaneous, it wasn't spur of the moment, it was protracted over days with numerous communications between you and the child," Judge Colefax said.
Wanstall had also changed his story over time, the judge noted, and had originally told the Local Court in January 2023 that he was a victim of a police sting which had been misled by officers.
The 49-year-old had showed no remorse or insight into his offending.
A 10 per cent discount was added to the sentence for Wanstall's late guilty plea made four weeks before his trial was set to begin.
The judge rejected claims media coverage of the case amounted to extra-curial punishment, saying publications on the case had been accurate.
"The media had a proper and responsible interest in reporting that a person in your position had been charged with such an offence," he said.
Wanstall, who hugged his family outside court before the sentence, was taken away by police officers.
The charge the 49-year-old was jailed for carries a maximum penalty of 15 years.
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