Former NRL star Brett Finch has been sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, which will be served in the community, for having “depraved” online conversations in which he expressed child abuse fantasies involving teenage boys.
Finch, 41, was arrested last year after police began investigating the activities of a convicted child sex offender and examined a series of chats the offender had with Finch and others on an online messaging platform.
Finch engaged in seven chats on the platform between November 2020 and January 2021, in which he repeatedly expressed fantasies of wanting to have sexual experiences with boys aged between 12 and 17.
He told the NSW District Court he does not have a sexual interest in children and only began using the platform to seek out drugs after his dealer was arrested. At the time, he said, he was addicted to cocaine and was using between 12 and 25 grams per week.
“I would’ve been on a drug-fuelled bender,” Finch said.
He said he believed sending “twisted” messages on the platform would put him in contact with recipients who were on drugs, meaning he would be more likely to receive drugs. He acknowledged that he did not actually ask for drugs in any of the messages.
On Wednesday, Judge Phillip Mahony said Finch’s plan was “plainly absurd” and had no hope of success, but accepted that Finch’s motivation was a desire for drugs.
Mahony sentenced Finch to two years in jail, imposing a recognisance release order which means Finch will be immediately released and serve his sentence in the community. Under the terms of the order, Finch must pay $1000, be of good behaviour for two years, and continue receiving treatment including being tested for illicit drugs.
The judge said Finch’s “morally reprehensible” offending was unsophisticated and did not involve actual children, with the messages sent between midnight and 7am while the former footballer was on a “drug-fuelled binge on cocaine”.
Mahony said media reporting had disproportionately focused on Finch because of his high profile, and some articles could lead people to incorrectly conclude Finch was a paedophile, meaning he could be targeted by vigilantes in custody.
He said the messages sent by Finch were graphic, “highly depraved and sexualised” and constituted child abuse material. He said he would not disseminate the messages further by mentioning them in his sentencing remarks.
The judge said Finch now acknowledges that his words contributed to the child abuse market and may have contributed to a person offending against children.
Finch told a psychologist he had a “wake-up call” or “epiphany” to stop using the chat service when someone offered him an opportunity to abuse two young girls. Finch said he realised he was dealing with a “sick f---” and told them to “f--- off”.
In a report to the court, a psychologist said Finch’s “frankly disgusting remarks” appeared to be a “fantasy” in the context of the footballer’s post-concussive syndrome and heavy dependence on cocaine.
The psychologist said Finch appears to be genuinely remorseful for his behaviour and the likelihood of him committing further offences is remote.
When Finch was arrested at his Sydney home in December 2021, he told police he had never engaged in sexual activity with children. He said he had been on drugs at the time he was talking about “that stuff” and described his online activity as “shit talk”.
