Baiting internet's paedophiles

Steve Waugh says hearing the verdict was 'like scoring a try for the All Blacks'. Photo / Herald on Sunday

Steve Waugh has been a cop for 11 years and has collared a string of thugs, but he had one of his most satisfying days in the job this week, bringing a potential paedophile to justice - a man he nabbed by posing as a teenage girl.

Former Canberra school teacher Murray Colin Stubbs, 45, was found guilty of using the internet in an offensive way by trying to lure a Kiwi "girl" on-line. He appeared in the Supreme Court at Canberra. His sentencing is next month.

The case centred around Stubbs having carried out sexually explicit online chats with a 14-year-old girl named "Roxanne Taylor".

But "Roxanne" was a character played out by undercover Auckland-based Detective Sergeant Waugh - not to be confused with the former Australian cricket captain of the same name.

The Kiwi Waugh worked for three years in the Auckland City District Child Exploitation Team, pretending to be different teens online to catch out paedophiles through sites such as Bebo, Yahoo and MySpace. He could call on back-up from CIB members when required.

Stubbs came to his attention because he was a "teacher", in his "40s" and trying to chat up young girls. Waugh made a connection by researching teen behaviour. He mimicked teen chatroom styles, keeping up to date on music and entertainment trends through his own children.

A prosecutor told the court Stubbs had asked "Roxanne" if she would allow him to carry out sex acts on her at least 22 times. At the time of his arrest he had been travelling to meet her.

Waugh said it was a great moment to witness the guilty verdict in Australia. "It's like scoring a try for the All Blacks."

He said the verdict justified the long hours of gathering on-line evidence against Stubbs, whom he hoped would receive the maximum three-year sentence so he could be kept away from grooming other girls.

Waugh, a 40-plus father of two, found the work "tough" and admitted having a daughter of a similar age to "Roxanne" motivated him to do his job well. "I just kept thinking about my kids. I'd hug them when I came home. "

Other cases were still going through the courts, but Waugh has helped secure charges on about eight child exploitation cases.

A national unit in Wellington does similar work on a larger scale.

Waugh has returned to front-line detective work in Avondale and enjoys having left behind the seedy underworld.