An Albion Park teen with a foot and bondage fetish offered to pay a 13-year-old boy $50 to allow him to tie him up, gag him and tickle his feet, a court has heard.
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Aged care worker James Anthony Foard, 19, made a number of disturbing and sexually-charged requests of the teen during a series of conversations that took place on social media over a six week period in August and September.
However, unbeknownst to Foard, his new friend was in fact an undercover police officer attached to the State Crime Command’s child exploitation unit - and Foard was at the centre of a sting.
The court heard Foard was explicit in explaining his bondage desires and sent a picture of a leather gag mask, asking the boy if he’d “wear it for him”, before suggesting they meet in person.
“I’m a bit into tying people up….I don’t want a slave, I just want to tie you up from time to time if that’s alright with you,” Foard wrote in one exchange.
“All I want to [do is] tie you up and play with your feet, that is all, then we [can] do what you like to do ‘cause it’s not all about me.”
Police began their undercover operation on August 5, with an officer assuming the online identity of the boy and sending a friend request to Foard, who accepted four days later.
The pair began talking online, with Foard being told the boy’s age and that he lived in western Sydney, but was willing to travel to Dapto.
On August 31, Foard asked his new friend what he would do for money before offering to pay him $50 to tie him up and tickle his feet, saying it would be “easy money”.
He also asked the boy to send him pictures of his feet, and him gagged with a sock.
Over the next week Foard continued to ask the boy to meet him and suggested a Monday “after school” at the same time he disclosed to him he was bisexual and wanted to tie the boy up and play with his feet.
In the same conversation, Foard claimed his fetishes were not manifested in sexual desire, however said exploring them with the boy could help the younger teen “discover his sexuality”.
“I enjoy it purely because I enjoy it, not sexually, I just think it’s fun,” he wrote.
“I’ve done it to other guys which I haven’t fancied, like mates, and they got a sexual thrill out of it.”
Police arrested Foard at his workplace in Kanahooka on October 20. He admitted to having contact with the undercover officer, and while he denied there was any sexual aspect to it, he conceded the interaction “could be considered sexual in nature”.
Foard pleaded guilty to using a carriage service to send indecent material to a person under 16 years.
He will face sentencing on December 20.
