Feeling lonely after a break-up, Michael James Mercer started having “virtual carnal knowledge” with a 15-year-old girl. At 26, he began grooming the girl, exchanging more than 23,000 sexual text messages over 11 months, Brisbane District Court heard.
Feeling lonely after a break-up, Michael James Mercer started having “virtual carnal knowledge” with a 15-year-old girl.
Sexual messages were exchanged almost daily along with photographs Mercer procured from the girl between January 2015 to February 2016.Mercer’s barrister said the messages were consensual, describing his client’s offence as “virtual carnal knowledge”. “I have read the details of the messages. They are clearly sexual in nature. There was clear grooming by you of her.”
The court heard Mercer was also found in possession of 6560 files of child exploitation material on three devices during a police search in August 2021.There was no evidence of Mercer accessing the material between 2016 and 2021, the court heard.
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