‘You’re a baby’: Alameddine family member charged with child grooming

An Alameddine family member with links to organised crime has been denied bail for child grooming in what a judge described as “brazen and explicit” accusations.

Mustapha Alameddine allegedly connected with what he thought was a 14-year-old girl on an anonymous online platform, sending sexually explicit photos and requesting them in return.

He was instead speaking with interstate police.

Police allege that when the person said they were 14, Alameddine’s messages escalated in sexual nature. In one message, he wrote: “Aw, you’re a baby at school,” before exchanging intimate images.

Interstate officers passed the information on to NSW Police’s Raptor Squad, which raided a home in Merrylands on Wednesday morning, seizing mobile phones and arresting Alameddine.

The 39-year-old was taken to Granville police station and charged with one count of using a device to groom a child for sex, one count of sending indecent material to a child, one count of using a carriage service to procure a child for sex, and one charge of possessing a prohibited drug. The offences carry a maximum of 10-15 years’ jail.

Detective Inspector Brad Abdy confirmed Alameddine has links to people involved in organised crime.

“While he was engaging a member of the police force, this activity could just as easily have been [with] not a member of the police and an innocent 14-year-old,” he said.

Alameddine, who worked in security and traffic control, was refused bail in the Bail Division Local Court on Wednesday.

Acting Judge Estelle Hawdon described the accusations as “brazen”.

“Regrettably, the circumstances surrounding this matter are truly very explicit to say the least and when you were told explicitly the person you were speaking to was aged 14 – while you initially said you were just going to chat – your descriptions became far more sexually explicit, followed by sending photos of your genitals,” she said.

“If you’re 14, you might find that very confronting”.

While accepting no actual harm was done due to there being no real victim, Hawdon said this did not lessen the seriousness.

“The fact you were in this chat room and engaged in this explicit conversation and did not resign from it at all is really concerning, and if you listen to media, these matters fill the community with fear”.

Although noting that remaining in custody would put stress on Alameddine and his family, since he is the sole breadwinner for his parents, wife and children, the judge found this did not outweigh risks of endangering the community.

Unsuccessfully arguing for bail, Alameddine’s lawyer Hisham Karnib said the allegations were confined to a couple of photos and explicit language.

“There was no degree of planning or premeditation,” Karnib said.

“It was a spur of moment conversation… lasting just over one hour. It didn’t span over a number of days or hours where applicant had the opportunity to rationalise and think about what was happening”.

Karnib said his client would face delays ahead of a potential trial due to the digital evidence that must be trawled.

Opposing bail, the prosecutor argued full-time custody was inevitable if he is convicted, that his release would pose a serious risk to community safety and that he was a flight risk. At their highest, he said, the accusations were extremely serious. The judge ultimately agreed.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732). Anyone affected by sexual, domestic or family violence can also access 24/7, free and confidential trauma-specialist counselling through Full Stop Australia (1800 385 578).

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