Qld man’s jail time doubled for sex abuse
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A Gold Coast grandfather who urged an abused Filipina teenager to recruit her friends so he could “take their virginity” has had his sentence increased on appeal.
Rex George Harrison, 66, will now serve at least five years behind bars after the Court of Appeal found his original sentence “manifestly inadequate” and doubled the non-parole period.
Harrison pleaded guilty in Brisbane Supreme Court in November 2020, to sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl and was sentenced to six-and-a-half years’ imprisonment.
The former chef also pleaded guilty to possessing and transmitting child exploitation material.
The grandfather was labelled a “predatory” offender who contacted girls over social media, manipulating them to send vile images that were discovered on his mobile phone.
He instructed the girls to pose naked and take pictures of themselves in provocative sexual positions, also as they urinated and defecated.
Harrison first visited the Philippines in October 2016, meeting his first victim in a bar before assaulting her in a hotel room.
He returned to the country twice more to sexually abuse the same teen before being arrested on October 5, 2017, about to board his flight for his fourth trip.
Highly sexualised messages found by police show Harrison wanting to meet young girls to “take their virginity” and asked his victim to recruit her younger friends.
In a victim impact statement, one of his victims said her involvement with Harrison brought her nothing but heartache, shame and embarrassment.
The Court of Appeal on Tuesday said the original sentence did not adequately reflect his overall criminality.
“It is bad enough that (Harrison) engaged in sexual intercourse with (the victim),” the court said.
“It is substantially worse conduct to then engage her to act as his procurer of other children to engage in sexual activity with him and to do so for money.”
It found Harrison exploited the children through inducements, threats and emotional manipulation for his own “depraved sexual interests”.
Harrison was resentenced to eight years, with a non-parole period set at five years in prison.
