A Victorian pedophile who left an American child traumatised after grooming her by "play-acting" on social media has been jailed.
Tech Ooi, 32, spent a month engaging in sexually explicit conversations with the girl, aged 11 to 12, in the United States via Snapchat.
The landscape architect, who admitted in court he had never had an intimate dating relationship and was obsessed with pornography, sent images of his penis to the child, as well as asking her to masturbate.
During a single, 90-minute exchange in December 2018, the pair exchanged 52 messages.
The girl, unaware that the person on the other end of the social media app was an adult, later cut herself, leaving scars for life, while her parents decided to move states for a "fresh start".
"A grown man has seen things I believe no one should ever see of a little girl," she said in a victim impact statement.
Ooi on Thursday faced Judge Michael McInerney at the Victorian County Court, where he was sentenced to a total of three years and eight months in prison, with a non-parole period of 18 months.
"It's hard to believe the detail of sexuality spoken about and how a child was participating in such a conversation by way of play-acting," Judge McInerney said.
"But that's the stark reality of this crime."
The Carlton man was charged with procuring a child outside Australia to engage in sexual activity, using a carriage service to transmit indecent images to a person under 16, and possessing child abuse material.
He pleaded guilty to all three charges in August.
The girl's mother told American authorities of the abuse after discovering the material on her phone, which resulted in Australian Federal Police conducting a search warrant of Ooi's home in November 2019.
Police found 389 child abuse images and 81 videos - all involving girls aged between 10 and 15 - on two devices.
Judge McInerney accepted an apology to all those affected from Ooi, who previously said he was "deeply ashamed" of his actions.
It is expected the Malaysian-born Australian citizen, who has no prior criminal history, will be deported after serving his prison sentence.
Australian Associated Press
