Pedophile has little chance: judge
A NOTORIOUS Ipswich pedophile who preys on young boys has no chance of being rehabilitated, a court heard.
Bradley Paul Crawford, 35, has been molesting children since he was 17 years old, and has multiple convictions for indecent treatment.
He was first convicted in 1996 of molesting four boys aged between 10 and 13. Crawford would tell his victims to "think of him as a girl" while he abused them and made them watch pornographic movies.
Crawford would tell police the "boys wanted him to touch them" and had "led him on".
Ipswich District Court heard Crawford gained an Ipswich woman's trust in February even though he told her he was a registered sex offender. Crawford convinced her he had been rehabilitated, but during a social gathering he went into her nine-year-old son's bedroom and molested him. The mother became suspicious and confronted Crawford, who denied any wrong doing, but the boy told his mother what happened. Police arrested Crawford the next day and he admitted to touching the boy, but the child "had instigated" it, (and while) he didn't feel the urge to do so the kid had led him on".
Crown prosecutor Caroline Marco said Crawford convinced the mother to trust him and then breached that in the home.
The court was told Crawford had admitted he had a sexual attraction to young children and posed a "lifelong risk of reoffending". While serving previous jail terms, Crawford refused to undergo a sexual offender's rehabilitation program.
Crawford pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent treatment and was sentenced to six years jail. With time served, he can apply for parole on February 17, 2014.
"You have an appalling criminal history for molesting little children - on any view, you are a pedophile," Judge Koppenol told Crawford, who kept his head bowed and eyes closed throughout sentencing. "You prey upon little boys for your own sexual gratification. I see little or no prospect of rehabilitation. I consider you as a person with a high risk of reoffending."
