Traffic controller nabbed over ‘explicit’ teen chat
A traffic controller allegedly told a 14-year-old girl she was a “baby” before sending sexually explicit images of her.
Mostapha Alameddine is accused of trying to groom a teenager for sex during a sensational conversation conducted in an online chat room in May.
However, the 40-year-old man was unaware that the person responding to his messages was actually a police officer disguised as a young girl.
Police allege Alameddine escalated the situation after being told the person he was communicating with was 14 years old.
“Haha, you’re a baby, but it’s okay, we’re just chatting,” Alameddine allegedly wrote.
He was arrested in an early morning raid at a home in Merrylands, in Sydney’s west, on Wednesday and charged with three child care offenses and possession of a prohibited drug.
Alameddine applied for release when he appeared in bail court from police custody on Wednesday afternoon.
His lawyer Hisham Karnib argued that it was a “spur of the moment” conversation without any planning or premeditation.
“The offending took just over an hour, so this was not the type of offense where the applicant actually had the opportunity to think rationally and consider what he was doing,” he said.
Mr Karnib said his client had no criminal record and was the sole breadwinner for his family, including his elderly parents.
But the police prosecutor opposed bail, highlighting the level of grooming going on and the extremely serious nature of the alleged offence.
After learning the teen’s age, Alameddine is accused of escalating the sensational nature of the conversation by sending a photo of his genitals and asking for a photo in return.
Acting Coroner Estelle Hawdon said the photos would be “very confronting” for a 14-year-old boy.
Although the judge accepted that no actual harm had been caused because the ‘young man’ was a police officer, he expressed concern about the alleged behaviour.
“This is a brazen crime,” he said.
He rejected the bail request and postponed the case for two months.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Resolution Support Service 1800 211 028
