A plea deal has been offered to the Werrington man accused of procuring a 14-year-old girl online for sex, Penrith Local Court has heard.
Last Friday, the accused’s lawyer told Magistrate Janine Lacy he required a two-week adjournment to get formal instructions from his client on a plea offer.
Michael Robert Amery, who appeared via video link from Junee Correctional Centre, is accused of engaging with the teen online and outlining sexually explicit acts he wished to perform on her.
Following a tip off, Child Abuse detectives became involved in August 2019, posing as the girl online about a month after the pair allegedly began communicating.
When Amery allegedly organised to meet the girl, detectives swooped, arresting him and seizing his mobile phone at a prominent Penrith shopping centre on September 5.
On Friday, the court heard the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions had forwarded Amery’s lawyer some amended facts and a plea offer had been made.
Amery, a truck driver, is charged with ‘using a carriage service to procure a person under 16 years of age for sexual activity’ and faces a maximum of 15 years behind bars if convicted.
Due to the nature of the offending, a community-based jail sentence is prohibited.
In an initial police interview, Amery denied the contact was for the purposes of sexual activity.
The details of the plea offer are yet to be disclosed.
He remains bail refused and is due to reappear on March 27.
Alena Higgins is the Weekender’s Senior News Reporter, primarily covering courts and Council issues.
