A children’s author who sent sexually explicit messages to three underage girls has been jailed for six-and-a-half years.
Oliver Phommavanh, 42, was sentenced at Parramatta District Court on Friday.Â
He was given a non-parole period of four years.
The former teacher and author of the popular children’s book Thai-Riffic! was arrested in May 2024 at a home in Old Guildford in Sydney’s west.
The arrest followed a police operation that involved assuming the identity of a 13-year-old girl and exchanging messages with Phommavanh online.
His sentence was reduced by 25 per cent, as he entered early guilty pleas for charges involving minors and the use of a carriage service to engage in sexual activity, procure sexual activity, send indecent material, solicit child abuse material, and groom minors over years.
Phommavanh was arrested in May 2024 after police officers assumed the identity of a 13-year-old girl. (ABC News: Simon Amery)
Judge Peter Krisenthal said Phommavanh had used his prominence as a children’s author as a ruse so they would talk to him online, before turning the conversation explicit.
“His actions were, in my view, clearly predatory,” Judge Krisenthal said.
“The offender acknowledges the victims were vulnerable and unsuspecting, acknowledging he exploited their trust.”Lengthy conversations with three girlsSexual assault support services:NSW Health Sexual Assault Services  NSW Sexual Violence Helpline on 1800 424 017NSW Victims Services on 1800 633 0631800RESPECT national helpline on 1800 737 732Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service on 1800 211 028Bravehearts (support for child sexual abuse survivors) on 1800 272 831Child Protection Helpline on 132 111MARS Australia (for men affected by rape and sexual abuse) on (07) 3857 1222National Survivors Foundation on 1300 124 433
Phommavanh, who appeared over audiovisual link while in custody at Parklea Correctional Centre, showed little emotion as the judge recounted his offending.
Judge Krisenthal summarised lengthy conversations Phommavanh had with the three girls and an undercover officer from 2018 to 2024, describing behaviour that became increasingly more sexualised, including a video call where he was shown masturbating.
Phommavanh and the girls started corresponding when they were aged from 11 to 13 years old on the social media platform Instagram.
Two of the girls messaged him after he performed a presentation for their school.
He spoke to the first girl for five years up until she was 16 years old, which is when she reported him to the police.
“After three to six months, he asked to see nude pictures,” Judge Krisenthal said.
“She sent about six nudes in the first year, mostly of her chest. They were screenshotted by the offender.”
When she was 15, she sent approximately 20 nude photos to him.
“She told him about her significant vulnerabilities and what she was suffering from at the time,” Judge Krisenthal said.
Speaking to a second 13-year-old in 2022, he “fantasised about her being in a Disney princess outfit and [wearing] lingerie outfits”.
He visited the Bangkok school of the third girl in 2018, ultimately exchanging more than 5,500 messages with her over six years.
Undercover police close in
Judge Krisenthal said he used the pretence of character development for an upcoming book to send her graphic descriptions of sex that amounted to child sex abuse material.
But his transgressions escalated when he believed he was talking online to another 13-year-old girl, when it was in fact an undercover police officer.
The court was told Phommavanh provided detailed instructions on how to masturbate and would follow up the next day to ask what happened.
He also described in graphic detail sexual intercourse.
On May 16, 2024, he sent her an explicit photo on Instagram.
Police arrested him the next day.
Judge Krisenthal said Phommavanh had been in counselling for six months for “significant personality issues”.
“I do accept that, on balance, he is genuinely remorseful and his level of insight and responsibility continues to develop,” he said.
The judge said Phommavanh had been employed as a warehouse worker since his arrest.
“I accept that he has lost a significant career and is unlikely to engage in it in the future.”