DAD WHO TOLD YOUNG GIRL HE WAS DREAMING ABOUT SEX WITH HER WALKS FREE FROM COURT
A depraved father who told a 13-year-old girl he had been dreaming about having sex with her was allowed to walk free from court.In a suggestive message to his victim, Lawrence Orpen wrote, "There is only so much porn I can watch on my phone in one day." When police confiscated the 51-year-old’s mobile device, they discovered disturbing extreme pornographic videos involving a snake and a pig.
Orpen had developed an obsession with the girl, whom he communicated with on Facebook in early the previous year.
The girl told her mother that Orpen had sent her a photo of his penis, but she deleted it, and officers were unable to recover the image from his phone.
Subsequently, he sent a message about watching pornography, accompanied by a smiley face, which she chose not to reply to.
Prosecutor David Polglase stated that Orpen told the girl in messages too graphic to detail that he was dreaming about her sexually.
The court was informed that Orpen was arrested on April 14 at his partner’s residence, where his mobile phone and computer were collected as evidence.
The videos dated back to 2017, when Orpen had set up Facebook and WhatsApp on his device, and they were later shared via WhatsApp.
An examination of his devices revealed an interest in teenage pornography but did not indicate any search for sexual abuse involving children.
Orpen refused to cooperate during police interviews, replying with "no comment," but expert analysis of his devices uncovered two troubling videos: one lasting 14 seconds depicting a snake and an adult male, and another lasting 69 seconds showing a woman engaging in sex with a pig.
Both videos had been sent through WhatsApp after being stored on Facebook and WhatsApp accounts created in 2017.
The court noted that Orpen presented significant mitigating circumstances, including his role as a carer for his mother and the potential for rehabilitation.
He was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, and required to complete a 60-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement as well as 120 hours of unpaid work.
Additionally, he was ordered to register as a sex offender and adhere to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years, with warnings that any breaches would lead to imprisonment.
Judge Garrett Byrne commented: "You sent a young 13-year-old girl extremely disgusting sexual messages.
The context of your relationship with her raises serious concerns, and it’s evident that you developed an unnatural attraction to her." He added that police findings of vile video clips on his devices, coupled with his infatuation, narrowly spared him from prison—highlighting that due to his caring responsibilities and a low assessed risk, he avoided incarceration.
