Man preyed on girls for 3 years

Paedophile paid victim $20 to keep quiet, court told

A PAEDOPHILE preyed on three young girls and even gave one of them money to not disclose his abuse during a three-year period of serious sexual offending.

Edmund Akkary was 27 when he first abused one of the girls in 2014.

Akkary last week pleaded guilty to penetration of a child under 16, four counts of an indecent act with or in the presence of a child, grooming for sexual conduct and sexual assault of a child under 16.

During the County Court plea hearing Judge Frances Hogan was told the now 33year-old preyed on the girls, who were aged from 12 to 17.

Prosecution documents filed to the court reveal the man groomed one victim by first sending her sexually explicit texts, and later by paying for her silence after trying to touch her and asking her to perform a sex act.

“He attempted to grab her breast but she turned away and told him she would get out of the car if he did it again,” the summary said.

“He gave her $10 so she would not tell her mother what happened.”

Over a three-year period

Akkary frequently told the girl she was pretty and beautiful and regularly made inappropriate comments to her.

The summary revealed the man tried to bribe the girl into touching him by offering to buy her computer games.

“(She) refused and he kept persisting, telling her what he would buy for her,” the summary stated.

“He eventually gave her $20 and said that they would do things later that day.”

On another occasion Akkary orally penetrated a girl leaving her “frightened and in shock”.

He later forced a girl to touch his penis by grabbing her arm and placing her hand on his groin.

Akkary abused a girl on another occasion by touching her vagina.

The man was interviewed over the offending in 2018 and made a no comment interview.

He opted to plead guilty to charges in January.

Akkary, who has already spent 92 days in custody, was remanded further for an extended plea hearing to be held in July.