Mark Andrew Ladmore, 44, faced a judge-alone trial in the Bega District Court this month. Photo: Ian Campbell.
CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to child abuse.
Some time ago, a young girl told her mother that a man from the NSW South Coast, a trusted family friend, had been sexually inappropriate to her.
“He told me not to say anything, as he’d go to jail,” she told her mother.
When the girl spoke to police two days later, she revealed horrific allegations of abuse.
Today, that man was found guilty of repeatedly sexually abusing her over about two years while she was under 16 in the early 2020s.
Mark Andrew Ladmore, now aged 44, faced a judge-alone trial in Bega District Court earlier this month, in which he pleaded not guilty to all charges.
While he was acquitted of two charges, Judge Andrew Haesler SC found him guilty of nine various child abuse-related offences on Friday (21 March) before he was handcuffed and led off into custody.
Ladmore, who is from Surf Beach near Batemans Bay, worked as an air-conditioning installer and was friends with the girl’s family, the judge said.
After Ladmore was arrested in 2023, police seized his phone and found seven files of child abuse material which were alleged to involve the girl, including pictures taken from a ceiling cavity when she was in a bathtub.
Meanwhile, a search of his home found a suitcase containing sex toys.
Judge Haesler said when the girl spoke to her mother, she told her about the sex toys in the suitcase, before breaking down and becoming distressed.
“I wish he never showed me,” the girl said of the suitcase.
The judge said she was able to accurately describe the contents of the suitcase.
Ladmore denied committing any sexual offences against the child, said he’d never shown the girl the contents of the suitcase and denied taking the photos of child abuse material that had been on his phone or knowing how they got there.
Ladmore pleaded not guilty to all charges during his trial in the Bega District Court. Photo: Ian Campbell.
His defence barrister, David McCallum, argued that the girl’s accounts contained inconsistencies and were too implausible to be true.
However Judge Haesler said, ultimately, he had “no doubt” in accepting the girl’s evidence, which established the incidents of sexual abuse.
On the other hand, he described Ladmore as “a singularly unimpressive witness”. When remarking on several of his claims, the judge said, “I could not believe him”.
Judge Haesler said Ladmore gave the girl special attention, such as buying her gifts and giving her cash, and treated her as if she was older than she was.
“I’m too young for this,” the girl had told him at one stage.
The judge accepted the evidence suggested Ladmore had a tendency to have a sexual interest towards the girl, noting he treated her with “considerable familiarity”.
Ladmore was found guilty of three counts of sexually touching a child and two counts of using a child for the production of child abuse material.
He was also found guilty of single counts of sexual intercourse with a child under his authority, grooming, inciting a child to sexually touch herself and carrying out a sexual act towards a child.
Judge Haesler revoked Ladmore’s bail, which he had been on since he was arrested, and adjourned the matter for sentencing in the Wollongong District Court on 30 May.
If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732 or by visiting www.1800respect.org.au. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT 02 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.
Original Article published by Albert McKnight on Riotact.
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