An Australian man was sentenced to 12 years in prison by a Los Angeles judge
He was arrested in Los Angeles in May during a sting conducted by U.S. officials posing as pedophiles and a pimp. The undercover agents offered to set Quinn up with a 6-year-old boy in exchange for $250.
He reportedly wept throughout his sentencing, saying it was the first time he tried to acquire a child for intercourse. “If you give me a second chance I won’t let you down,” he told Judge John Walter.
Walter called Quinn’s desire to attend a pedophile party where people could pay to rape children “absolutely disgusting,” “ghastly” and “despicable.” Quinn’s lawyer Lisa Shinar LaBarre sought a 10-year prison term.
U.S. undercover officials had been communicating with Quinn for weeks while he was in Melbourne before starting his rugby union trip. The Melbourne Chargers playerreportedly posted on a social media website for pedophiles: “Aussie perv, heading to the US late May/June interested to meet others while I’m there. LA, Nashville, NYC.”
An agent noticed this post and began communicating with the 33-year-old, who told the undercover agent he wished to rape a boy.
LaBarre said Quinn suffered from a severe addiction to methamphetamine which affected his thinking, resulting in psychotic thoughts. Quinn also said he was abused as a child.
A psychologist who examined Quinn during the five months he was in prison said Quinn was unlikely to reoffend. But the veteran judge said he was not “overly impressed” by the report, pointing out that Quinn was not given the standard test for pedophilia. “The defendant had every intention of raping a boy,” the judge said, disregarding Quinn’s claims of abuse and drug addiction.
“It upsets me so much that I could be capable of harming a child,” Quinn told Walter. He apologized to his native country for “damaging its reputation,” adding: “I never want to put a child in danger again.”
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