Now police are urging parents to speak to their children and teenagers about dangers of online predators after the man was jailed for offending against young people he groomed on social media sites.
He had earlier pleaded guilty to a raft of charges including sexual connection with a person under 16, indecently exposing a person under 16 to explicit material, arranging to meet a young person with the purpose of sexual connection and offering to supply cannabis.
Over a period of 15 months Samoa targeted three young people - a 13-year-old girl and two 14-year-old boys - after meeting them on social media sites.
He used applications including Whisper and Viber but later texted the victims.
Samoa said he went online to find people to have sex with because his relationship had broken up, he was "lonely" and had a high sex drive.
He initially met other adults but moved on to the teenagers.
He was aware of their ages and lied to them, saying he was either 19 or 20, to gain their trust and friendship.
Samoa then went about trying to get the teenagers to meet him for sexual encounters.
He sent explicit text messages and photographs to them and offered them cash, cannabis and cigarettes.
Andy Samoa in court for sentencing. Photo / Doug Sherring
Only one of the teenagers met Samoa - sneaking out at night to be picked up and driven to Hillsborough where he was sexually abused.
Samoa was arrested after the other teenage boy told his parents about the messages and they went to police.
Officers ascertained the same person was behind the contact but they did not know his real identity.
They managed to link the messaging back to Samoa and set up a meeting with him in a North Shore park, posing as the teenage girl.
When he arrived he sent the "girl" a message confirming he was there and described his car.
Police then moved in and arrested him.
"As the investigation went on further, information came to hand that there was a third victim who a number of charges related to," Sutton said.
"He was using all the social media apps to make contact with these young people, grooming them to get their trust and persuading them to have sex with him."
Sutton said the case showed how important it was for parent and guardians to communicated with their children about being safe online.
"We've got to make sure our young people are aware and prepared to talk to their parents," he said.
"If you're concerned about a person's behaviour online, ring the police and tell them what's happening.
"To the people who are out there doing this, or thinking about doing it - we will look for you and we will try and catch you."
Avoid predators - help your kids stay safe online
Some things you can do to help your children stay safe online include:
• install software on your computer that either blocks restricted content so your children cannot access certain sites, or monitors activity so you can review online behaviour
