Young actors allegedly lured into sex with fake agent
A man accused of a decade-long spree of luring women in with fake online profiles to commit sexual offences has turned to a court for divine intervention.
But Gerard Cecil Vamadevan lost his application to be bailed to a friendly reverend's home after a NSW Supreme Court judge said he was not confident the alleged fake agent would comply with conditions.
Vamadevan, 57, is facing 56 charges including sexual touching, identity fraud and stalking after 17 women came forward to accuse him of manipulating their desires for acting careers into sexual favours.
One charge accuses Vamadevan of causing someone under 18 to engage in an act of child prostitution.
He allegedly used different SIM cards to create multiple email and social media profiles to convince young actors to contact him between 2017 and 2026, Justice Muston said.
"(He allegedly) created fake personas and offered acting jobs ... within the entertainment industry with a view to inducing his alleged victims into sexual activity," the judge said.
"It is further alleged he attempted to film and, in some cases, did film those activities ... the filming is said to have been without the consent of the victims."
The 57-year-old's lawyer argued he should be allowed out on bail because any trial in the matter was unlikely to take place until 2028 given the amount of electronic material needing to be analysed.
A reverend who is aware of the extent of the charges against Vamadevan and was present in court on Thursday offered up a room in his house for the accused sexual abuser to stay if granted bail.
However, Justice Muston questioned how honest Vamadevan had initially been when he approached the reverend for the favour.
"He seems to have downplayed the factual view of the charges," the judge said.
The prosecutor successfully argued Vamadevan had a history of flouting bail conditions as recently as January.
When granted bail on his arrest, the alleged fake agent was told he was not allowed to use the internet for any purpose other than his employment, the court was told.
Vamadevan later posted photos to his Instagram of him attending a "work boat cruise" and tagging multiple corporations.
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