NSW: US sailor pleads guilty to grooming child for sex

AAP General News (Australia)
08-20-2007
NSW: US sailor pleads guilty to grooming child for sex

SYDNEY, Aug 20 AAP - A US sailor faces up to 12 years jail after pleading guilty to
grooming a 14-year-old girl for sex in Australia.

David Wayne Budd, 28, was arrested at Sydney Airport on June 23 after an online conversation
with a detective posing as a young girl on June 21.

The Petty Officer 2nd Class had been stationed at Rockhampton in Queensland, where
he had been posted as part of a joint US-Australian military training exercise.

He joined the operation from the US Navy's Southwest Regional Maintenance Centre in
San Diego, California.

Appearing in Sydney's Parramatta Local Court today, Budd pleaded guilty to using a
carriage service to groom a person under 16 years of age for sex.

The maximum penalty for the offence is 12 years jail.

He will be sentenced in the NSW District Court on August 31.

AAP kjd/was/cp/sp

KEYWORD: BUDD

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