Channel Nine reporter Ben McCormack was arrested in Sydney. Source: News Ltd
Warning: Graphic content
A Catholic schoolteacher has been revealed as the paedophile who shared vile child sex messages that led police to catch disgraced TV presenter Ben McCormack.
The Daily Mail Australia reports that McCormack exchanged lewd messages via Skype with West Australian teacher Mathew Paul Reale.
Reale, a 30-year-oldteacher from Perth, met with McCormack over Skype on April 30, 2015, court documents revealed.
Police investigated months' worth of Skype chats between McCormack and Reale. Photo / Supplied/Instagram
Police investigating Reale found his conversations with McCormack.
Despite McCormack never mentioning he was from "A Current Affair", detectives found references made by Reale in the chats to "Ben" and "A Current Affair".
These were enough to make them investigate further.
About one month later, police pulled McCormack over while he was driving and conducted what seemed to be a planned search in his car. Following that, they also raided his home and offices.
McCormack's lawyer says the TV reporter had been troubled by his thoughts about children for years and had been seeing psychiatrists.
McCormack has reportedly attempted suicide twice since his arrest, feeling guilty for what this situation has done to his family.
"It's not your mess I've created, it's mine," he wrote in a suicide note.
McCormack's Skype buddy Reale has pleaded guilty to one count of producing child exploitation material, nine counts of distributing child exploitation, and one count of using electronic communication with intent to procure a person under the age of 16 years for sexual activity.
He will be sentenced next year.
McCormack was today sentenced to a good behaviour bond for three years and fined A$1000 ($1100) at the Downing Centre District Court in Sydney.
He escaped jail on child porn charges because his "wish list" of sex with young boys was just "fantasy".
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