<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Less than a week before his pre-Christmas arrest, a former Catholic priest offered to be a sex guide to an undercover </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/police" rel="" target="" title="police officer"><span>police officer</span></a><span> posing as a 14-year-old boy online.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Guy Norman Hartcher, 79, was picked up by police on December 23, 2024 after trying to procure sex from three individuals claiming to be underage online.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>Warning: This story contains references to child sexual assault.</span></strong></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>LIVE UPDATES:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-iran-war-live-updates-may-5-donald-trump-latest-world-news-headlines/65a1ee30-d4c9-4059-ad31-aee74fa879b7" target="_blank"><strong><span>Australians to feel the pain of oil price surge as ceasefire breaks</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/ballina-boating-accident-three-dead-search-under-way-after-northern-nsw-boating-tragedy/974d7967-1138-4fdb-8b99-f8bc374c4a43" rel="" target="" title="Rescuers among those killed in attempt to save stricken yacht off NSW"><strong><span>Rescuers among those killed in attempt to save stricken yacht off NSW</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>One of these was an undercover officer who had been messaging the ex-priest through Telegram for weeks posing as a teen named Ben.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Police arrested Hartcher as he was sitting in his red Kia at Pendle Hill in </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/sydney" rel="" target="" title="Sydney"><span>Sydney</span></a><span>'s west thinking he was going to meet the young victim.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/guy-norman-hartcher-priest-charged-over-child-abuse-material/a4e52fdc-d616-4c60-a01b-98cb5917afb2" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Video shows sex crimes squad detectives handcuffing the now 79-year-old outside a South Asian minimart.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The former Vincentian priest in March pleaded guilty to a slew of child abuse material charges and attempting to procure children for sex.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Agreed facts tendered in the NSW District Court and seen by AAP today delve into the depravity of the 79-year-old's online activity throughout 2024.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There is no such thing as too young," he told one user he shared child abuse material with in November of that year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His online discussions with "Ben" involved topics such as sexual intercourse, masturbation and his own sexual experience.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This is me baby," he said when sending his picture to undercover police.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Way older but interested in talking sexy and being your guide to sex as much as you want."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>MONEY:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/federal-budget-2026-what-to-expect-signficant-changes-announcements-explainer/94106a49-6102-447d-bb6a-53aabc1d4a5f" target="_blank"><strong><span>Workers set for $300 tax-time bonus in budget one-off</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hartcher tried to solicit sex from two other users claiming they were teenage girls on the Zangi app, offering them Apple gift cards in exchange for images.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He told one user claiming to be 15-years-old that he wanted to be her "dirty daddy" and discussed meeting up on Christmas Eve for sex.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"You will thank daddy on Tuesday baby," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In chats with someone else he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, he used the love heart and eggplant emojis.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The former priest asked how the girl had not yet been sexually assaulted by her uncle, father, teacher, or classmate's dad.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In chatting with another 14-year-old, he mentioned how he loved the "little girl cuddly toy" on her bed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He also said he found her younger cousin attractive.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hartcher shared explicit child abuse images and videos, including AI-generated material, with six others through Telegram.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Many of these texts and images are too explicit to report on, and included topics such as incest.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He boasted about being able to train young girls so they became attached and ready for sex, telling one user he could share this knowledge.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"What I really NEED is a 12 yr old," he wrote.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I had one I raised and trained a few years ago but when she finished school I encouraged her to get a boyfriend."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He also claimed a naked teenage boy he raped in some changerooms while on holiday in Fiji had yelled and tried to escape before settling down.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hartcher remains out on bail and will be sentenced in July.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.1800respect.org.au/"><strong><span>National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).</span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><span></span></em><em><strong><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></strong></em><span> 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