Pedophile Grooms Girl Online

It began with an apparently innocent "Hi" popping up on the young girl's computer screen.

It blossomed into a whirlwind online romance between the 14-year-old girl and a person she thought was a teenage boy.

Then it descended into a hell of sexual abuse at the hands of one of the country's most conniving predators.

The Year 8 student from a Melbourne girls' school would pass hours in her room on school projects and messaging her friends on the MSN network.

One Friday night, when her home was abuzz with familial activity, the victim found a new Internet friend wanting to talk.

Behind the words flickering on the girl's screen sat flabby, 34-year-old pedophile Bram Henderson.

Online, he was teen hunk "John'', who complimented the girl on her profile photo.

During the intense conversations that followed, the pedophile used multiple characters and an emotional arsenal of flattery, trickery, threats and guilt to manipulate the girl.

What happened over the course of the next few weeks was every parent's worst nightmare.

Using youthful abbreviations such as LOL (laugh out loud), DW (don't worry), kewl (cool), LMAO (laugh my ass off) and *S* (smile), he won her trust within five minutes of contact.

Within 10 minutes, Henderson was asking the girl where she went to school. Within 20, he was trying to meet her.

John, the 17-year-old bad boy with a heart of gold and a handsome online photo, was just one of three identities Henderson used to entrap his victim.

The troubled but romantic teen character said he was down from Sydney and didn't know many people, while dropping names of the girl's online friends.

He sent her poetry he claimed to have written and told her she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen.

The girl was flattered by the attention from the charming, muscular teen, saying boys didn't usually take an interest in her.

Their first chat lasted six hours. Their daily conversations ran for three months and filled more than 300 screen pages.

As hours and hours of talking passed, flirting escalated to exchanging elaborate, invented sex stories.

When the intense online relationship was only days old, the pair exchanged virtual kisses and pledged their love to each other.

Soon the pedophile had the girl's mobile number but was careful never to part with his own contact details.

He pestered the girl more than 100 times for further photos of herself, with the requests becoming increasingly explicit.

When the girl refused or stalled, he said she had betrayed his trust. When she complied with the sick requests, he praised her and pledged undying love.

As the danger to the girl intensified, friends warned her the boyfriend she had never met could be an Internet pedophile.

But "John'' managed to persuade her that his accusers were flirts that he rejected online.

A new Internet character, Larry, was introduced as John's best friend from Sydney, and a story was concocted that eventually luredthe girl to meet Henderson.

The 14-year-old met the pedophile, posing as a fictional boyfriend's boss several times at a number of display homes where she was taken advantage of.

Caught up in Henderson's sick world, the young victim posted: "I don't like my thoughts any more.''

After tip-offs from the girl's concerned friends, police caught Henderson meeting the girl.

He is now serving a minimum of six years' jail - with no Internet access.

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