James Anthony Gwynne: Police officer who shared his ‘depraved’ bestiality and incest fantasies with teenage girls still has the support of his wife, court hears

A police officer will have to wait to learn the fate of “very depraved” messages he sent about his fantasies of bestiality and incest.

James Anthony Gwynne appeared in Campbelltown District Court on Friday after pleading guilty to handling a child for sexual purposes and using a carriage service to send and receive child pornography.

The court heard the 31-year-old used encrypted messaging platform Whisper to send messages to several adult and underage users about his twisted fantasies involving bestiality and incest.

Gwynne sent the vile messages, many of which are too graphic to detail, between February and April last year while he was based at Waverley police station in Sydney’s east.

“My secret is that my fantasies are illegal,” he told one user.

“As in I’m going to jail.” »

In his posts, Gwynne repeatedly revealed his sexual fantasies involving dogs and his desire to have daughters he could impregnate.

He bragged about being a serving police officer and brazenly told a 17-year-old girl: “Dad is a police officer.”

“A police officer and a pervert lol,” she replied.

Gwynne called a 17-year-old girl a “breeding toy” in cryptic messages. Image: Text mockup.

On Friday, Gwynne was accompanied by her parents. The court heard his wife could not attend but remained supportive.

Although the 31-year-old was scheduled to be sentenced Friday afternoon, Judge Tanya Smith said a number of issues needed to be resolved first.

She raised concerns about the specificity of one of the charges, which had been “consolidated” to include using a transportation service to solicit and transmit child pornography.

Judge Smith said she was trying to determine what conduct was subject to which element of the charge and whether the combination was legal.

“If I determine that it is not authorized by law, there will have to be an election on one or the other charge,” she said.

He bragged about his work and shared photos of his uniform. Image: Text mockup.

If that were the case, Crown prosecutor David Jordan said making a choice could “overturn” Gwynne’s guilty plea and “leave uncharged conduct uncharged.”

The judge also raised the discrepancies between the definition of a child under state and Commonwealth law, a factor she must take into account when sentencing.

She noted that the case “raised a lot of issues” and explained that she took great pains to assess each charge instead of approaching Gwynne’s offenses on a “global basis.”

“Some of the topics discussed are obviously very depraved, but … it is my job to pass sentence on an individual charge before me and to determine the conduct in respect of which it is in question,” Judge Smith said.

“I’m not here to condemn anyone in terms of beliefs or fantasies of a certain type.”

Justice Smith adjourned the matter for a week to allow the parties to present their arguments on the issues raised.

COURT – GWYNNE

If her concerns are properly addressed, the court heard Gwynne will likely be sentenced before the end of the year.

The 31-year-old looked dejected and tried to escape the media as he left Campbelltown Courthouse with his parents.

On Friday, NSW Police confirmed Gwynne had resigned from the force on August 23, more than six months after pleading guilty.

He was arrested after investigators from the Human Trafficking Task Force posed as a fictional 15-year-old American girl on Whisper.

Gwynne struck up a conversation with the “teenager” in April 2022 and asked her if she would “sit on the face of a pretty Australian cop.”

The teenager made it clear she was only 15 before the officer sent her a photo of his erect penis next to his NSW Police uniform shirt.

Days later, police searched Gwynne’s home and Waverley police station and found several items he was wearing in the images sent to the “teenager”.

The disgraced police officer has pleaded guilty to manipulating a child outside Australia to facilitate their participation in sexual activity.

He also admitted using a carriage service to solicit child pornography, three counts of using a carriage service to transmit child pornography and using the service to offend.