A police officer who groomed a teenager and forced him to have sex after meeting her while on duty has been jailed for at least three years.
Matthew Robert Townsend admitted to stalking the 15-year-old after taking a statement from her when she was physically assaulted at school.
The 29-year-old former probation officer pursued the schoolgirl using social media posts after finding her account through tagged photos.
“You're cute, want to meet up?” he messaged before explaining that he was the police officer she had spoken to at school.
Townsend asked the girl to keep the contact a secret or they would both get in trouble.
Former cop Matthew Townsend (pictured), 29, will be jailed for at least three years after grooming a 15-year-old schoolgirl, with whom he had sex twice after buying her alcohol and vapes
Townsend sought out the girl on Instagram after making her statement about an attack on her school in August 2022, and later sent her messages that became more sexual over time
Pictured: Mock-up text from Townsend asking the teen to meet him
He was given a minimum prison term of three years and a maximum term of six years on Thursday after pleading guilty to two charges of sexual intercourse with a child between 14 and 16 years old.
NSW District Court Judge Julia Baly noted Townsend's significant age difference and status as a police officer as she described a “clear power imbalance” between the pair.
She said any consent from the victim should be considered in light of her initial reluctance, with the girl rejecting Townsend's early advances.
“There was some form of coercion,” Judge Baly said.
“I cannot accept that he was not living under duress.”
Townsend “grossly and egregiously” abused the trust placed in him in planning and carefully orchestrating his offense against a girl who was vulnerable because of her age and personal circumstances.
“He was a police officer on duty to investigate a possible criminal offense involving this victim, where he began preparing her for his sexual gratification,” Judge Baly said.
Townsend, who was working at the Campbelltown Police Command (pictured) when he met the girl, asked her to keep the contact a secret or they would both get in trouble
Townsend used increasingly sexualized language in his messages to the victim, encouraging her to interact sexually with him.
He also had her phone number in his police notebook, a fact he emphasized as they later drove to a parking lot where he had sex with her after buying her Vodka Cruisers.
Townsend did not take the teen to his share house for fear that his roommates would contact the police themselves.
Days later, Townsend bought her a mango energy drink and vapes, and had sex with her again after driving her around in his car while he talked about his job as a cop.
Townsend's status as a police officer significantly increased his already serious offending, the judge said.
He has been in custody since October 2022 and will be eligible for parole on September 30, 2025.