James Hayward: WA MP who groomed an eight-year old girl by introducing her to ‘Family Guy porn’ is found guilty of sexually abuse

Western Australian MP James Hayward has been convicted of child sexual abuse after a six-day trial in which he was told in a letter to his wife that he had confessed to the crimes.

Hayward, 53, was found guilty of twice instructing an eight-year-old girl to touch him indecently.

He was acquitted of two other charges of indecent contact with a child under the age of thirteen, including showing her how to search for pornography on the Internet.

Hayward’s family wept in the courtroom as the jury read the verdict.

During his trial at the Perth court, it was said that the former television producer had abused the child over a two-year period, during which he often slept with her to read stories.

In a police questioning and pre-recorded evidence, the child confirmed the allegations, saying “James unbuttoned his trousers.”

She also said Hayward told her to keep the interactions a secret.

The court was told that the girl’s family was aware that Hayward often “tucked her in” and that her mother said she was initially unconcerned about his actions.

An older sibling found the girl watching animated Family Guy pornography on her iPad and videotaped her saying that Hayward had shown her how to look for it and abused her, prompting an investigation.

Hayward emailed his wife a “suicide note” shortly after learning of the allegations, which she passed on to police fearing for his safety.

In it he wrote: ‘In the coming days I expect to be charged with child abuse in relation to (a child), which I have done’.

He also alluded to the warning his wife had given him before the allegations surfaced that he slept with the girl because he feared he could be accused of abuse.

During a police interview, Hayward denied the note was a confession and said he intended to take his life to spare his family and the victim’s family from any media scrutiny that would follow the disclosure of the situation.

He also said that he did not want his wife to blame his victim for his death, and the confession was intended to prevent this and to preserve the close relationship between the two families.

The former pastor also said he was under a lot of pressure and depression because of a bankrupt former company, which owed $440,000 to the IRS, when he wrote the note.

Hayward gave evidence at trial in an attempt to clear his name, but prosecutor Sean Stocks told the jury he was evasive and used “weasel words” to downplay his relationship with the girl, as he summarized the Crown’s case .

Judge Stephen Lemonis told the jury that due to its vague nature, Hayward’s note to his wife could not be used on its own to convict him.

He also ordered that the child’s evidence be scrutinized with great care due to the lack of accuracy in her testimony and the delay in the charges against Hayward, which he said limited his ability to build a robust defense against the allegations, hindered.

Hayward resigned from the WA Nationals after charges were filed in 2021, but continued to sit in the state’s House of Lords as an independent MP.

He will be banned from parliament if his sentence is five years or more.

WA Opposition Leader and National Leader Shane Love said Hayward is expected to be disqualified from his position.

“Abuse in any form is unequivocally unacceptable,” Love said in a statement Monday night.

It is expected that James Hayward will now be disqualified from his position as a member of the Legislative Council representing the Southwest.

“A process will then begin to determine his replacement.”

Hayward was remanded in custody and Judge Lemonis has postponed sentencing until October 16.

The maximum penalty for indecent contact with a child is ten years in prison.

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