An Anglican priest has escaped jail after he boasted fantasies about raping boys as young as one once said and hoped to watch his son be sexually abused.
Phillip John Murphy was handed a suspended 12-month jail sentence on Friday after he was caught engaging in perverse and explicit virtual chats about his and other children.
The Melbourne vicar pleaded guilty in the Victorian Country Court to transmitting child pornography material between 2016 and 2017.
Phillip John Murphy, 53, (pictured) was handed a suspended 12-month jail sentence on Friday after he was caught engaging in perverse and explicit virtual chats about his and other children
Donning the username ‘pervert’ he approached men on the dating app Grindr to ask if they were interested in children
During sentencing the court noted the 53-year-old’s crimes did not involve real children and there were no photos or videos.
Donning the username ‘pervert’ he approached men on the dating app Grindr to ask if they were interested in children.
If they were, he arranged to chat with them on Skype and offer up explicit conversations involving children.
In one case Murphy offered to pay for a motel to sexually abuse a boy.
Murphy engaged in conversations about raping young children as young as two
‘Can’t host I’m afraid. Church house. Can get motel,’ he wrote on December 29, 2016.
According to the ABC, Murphy once said he hoped to watch his son be sexually abused
In one online discussion, another man boasts about sexually abusing his sons.
Murphy wrote: ‘id love to have slept with them when they were v yng'[sic].
Judge Phillip Coish said the priest’s communications ‘were grossly offensive and deeply disturbing’
The former Sunshine vicar told one man he was in a ‘very pedo mood’.
Judge Phillip Coish said the priest’s communications ‘were grossly offensive and deeply disturbing’.
Despite the prosecution calling for an immediate jail sentence, Judge Phillip decided it was appropriate for Murphy to be released and undertake a sex offender program.
Police arrested Murphy at the airport after he came home from a trip to Hong Kong. They searched his laptop in 2017 and was charged with multiple child pornography offences
During his police interview, he said he was drawn to the online chats because of his depression.
Police arrested Murphy at the airport after he came home from a trip to Hong Kong. They searched his laptop in 2017 and was charged with multiple child pornography offences.
Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, Philip Freier, said Murphy had been suspended from all church duties.
‘I am profoundly saddened to hear of the Rev’d Philip Murphy’s conviction for child pornography offences,’ Dr Freier said.
Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, Philip Freier, said Murphy had been suspended from all church duties