By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A man has been jailed after being found with a self-produced child abuse video while arrested as part of a drugs, guns and stolen luxury-cars ring.
Andrew Rohan, 40, of Hampton Park, and two co-accused men were caught in an Operation Thrives police sting as they arranged to sell a stolen $180,000 Mercedes and a sawn-off shotgun and shells to an undercover police officer.
The trio were arrested by Special Operation Group police in Worrell Street, Dandenong on 4 June 2019.
Rohan’s nine-minute “graphic” video of him and a 15-year-old girl was found on a two-Giga-byte storage device in his wallet, the Victorian County Court heard.
The girl was also arrested at the scene.
Rohan was driving a $70,000 Toyota Kluger which had been stolen in an aggravated burglary on 14 May 2019.
From the vehicle, police seized nearly 20 grams of ecstasy tablets and 2.3 grams of ice, a tomahawk, bolt cutters, disposable gloves and a satchel of spanners.
They also found various bank cards, ID cards and cheques of other people.
At the time, Rohan was on bail and a community corrections order.
Rohan pleaded guilty to offences including three counts of sexually penetrating a child under 16, producing child sex material, drug trafficking and handling stolen goods.
Sentencing judge Kevin Doyle said on 9 June that Rohan knew the age of his victim during the “substantial” breach of trust. Being under 16, she could not legally consent.
Rohan told a police interview that the relationship had “blurred lines”, Judge Doyle noted.
He later expressed remorse for what he told police was a “moment of weakness”, that he’d originally wanted to protect the victim from a preying older man.
Judge Doyle noted if Rohan had regrets, he wouldn’t have kept the video for more than four months until his arrest.
It “kept alive” the possibility that Rohan could distribute the video or keep it for “self-gratification”.
It was an isolated act but there was nothing to show that Rohan acted protectively towards the victim. There was a substantial age difference and power imbalance, Judge Doyle said.
The victim was vulnerable and living in difficult circumstances, Judge Doyle noted.
No evidence was given to rebut the presumption of harm to the child.
In the police sting, Rohan was a drop-off driver with associates Jayden Schmidt, 22, of Narre Warren, Iqan Mehrdadian, 19, of Trugannina and a fourth man.
On 4 April 2019, Rohan delivered a stolen $40,000 Audi A4 to a covert police operative in Worrell Street Dandenong.
Rohan told the undercover purchaser there was “a little present” in the boot – three ounces of cannabis.
The covert officer paid Rohan $5750 for the drugs and the car.
Rohan’s involvement in the ring was less than co-offender Schmidt but “not insignificant”, Judge Doyle said.
Schmidt was linked to selling five stolen cars, 63 grams of ice and a fully-automatic SKS assault rifle for undercover cops for four months.
In May, Schmidt was jailed for up to three years and eight months, including a two-year and four-month non-parole period.
The co-accused Mehrdadian was jailed for 13 months with a two-year supervised community corrections order.
As a child, Rohan was exposed to drug use, various father figures and family violence.
After a successful career in management, Rohan – a former football player and club official – spiralled into ice use and criminality in his mid-thirties.
He’d been previously placed on two CCOs for offences such as car theft, deception and drug possession.
With no previous sexual offences, Rohan’s risk of re-offending was regarded as low-to-medium – and significantly less with drug and mental health treatment.
Sentenced as a serious sex offender, Rohan was jailed for up to five years, including a three year non-parole period.
He’d already spent 371 days in pre-sentence custody.
He will be a registered sex offender for life.
