A 27-year-old predatory paedophile has broken down in court, saying he "felt horrible" and hates himself for molesting a 7-year-old girl he abducted from a Queensland Kmart.
Father-of-two Sterling Mervyn Free was at a North Brisbane Kmart when he stalked a 7-year-old girl in the toy section and lured her away from her mother.
Free then drove the young girl to bushland 30 minutes away where he molested her before dropping her back at Kmart more than an hour later.
Free faced a sentencing hearing in Brisbane District Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to deprivation of liberty, taking a child for immoral purposes and indecent treatment of a child under 12.
In court, video of the abduction played out, leaving members of the public gallery in tears.