Proud to be a ped, says disgraced journalist
THE disgraced former A Current Affair journalist responsible for tracking down notorious child molester and TV star Robert Hughes described himself as a “proud ped” during sickening online conversations in which he outlined a sexual interest in young boys.
Ben McCormack, who yesterday pleaded guilty to child pornography charges, spoke with another unnamed man for two years on a social networking site as he discussed his vile sexual fantasies, agreed facts tendered in court revealed.
In one conversation the depraved 43-year-old, who went by the name Oz4skinboi, bragged “I love chatting to pedos” while in another in July 2015, when asked if he thought he’d “always be a p”, McCormack replied: “I’ll always have the attraction … They are beautiful”.
And in January this year McCormack told the man he liked naughty boys and was asked, “U eva think u’ll play with one? Or just fantasy?”. “I’d love to,” he replied. McCormack pleaded guilty in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court to two charges of using a carriage service to transmit child pornography, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in jail.
Court documents state police discovered numerous online conversations involving McCormack between April 30, 2015, and January 1 this year.
The agreed facts state that although police never found any videos or photos of child pornography transmitted by McCormack the conversations showed the men had exchanged several images.
McCormack was arrested on April 6 after police raided A Current Affair’s Sydney office and his home.
Nine confirmed yesterday he had resigned.