An Australian author could face a jail term after being found guilty of writing an erotic novel deemed to contain child abuse material.
Lauren Mastrosa, 34, a Sydney-based author who writes under the pen name Tori Woods, was charged with producing and disseminating child abuse material in her novel Daddy's Little Toy. It was published through an online pre-release in March 2025.
On Tuesday, a New South Wales court found her guilty of three child abuse material charges.
Magistrate Bree Chisholm said the book, which explores a sexual relationship between 18-year-old Lucy, who has been portrayed behaving like a toddler, and her father's 45-year-old best friend Arthur, is “undeniably offensive”.
“The defendant has written a book that sexually objectifies children,” magistrate Chisholm said.
“The reader is left with a description that creates the visual image in one’s mind of an adult male engaging in sexual activity with a young child.”
The author, who is a Christian charity marketing executive, sat in a packed courtroom at the Blacktown Local Court with her husband as the magistrate read out details from 210 page novel, the Australian Associated Press reported.
After reading the book, Ms Chisholm found Mastrosa guilty of creating, possessing and disseminating child abuse material, noting that copies were sent to pre-readers and published in hard copy, though they were not distributed and remained in Mastrosa’s possession.
The book’s pink front cover has the title spelled out in children's colourful alphabet blocks. The book’s protagonist uses child-like language, wears children's clothing, including nappies, and engages in child-like behaviour.
The book also has a number of trigger warnings, including age-gap romance, kink, infantilisation, profanity, sexually explicit scenes and sex-shaming.
At the trial, Mastrosa’s barrister, Margaret Cunneen SC, had raised questions over the police’s suggestions that the novel contained child abuse material. Ms Cunneen said Lucy, a character who worked in a toy store and wore children’s clothing, was portrayed as being 18 years old throughout the novel.
The magistrate said that Lucy was portrayed to be a child in the book despite repeated references to her being 18.
In the novel, Arthur repeatedly refers to Lucy as “baby girl” and “my little girl”. The teenage character is depicted engaging in childlike behaviour, including throwing tantrums, being bathed, wearing nappies and playing with children’s toys.
She is also described using child-like language, such as referring to urination as “wee wee”.
“I do not accept the submission that the character is not implied to be a child,” Ms Chisholm said.
"Importantly, those descriptions and language are used in the portions of the book to describe a character similar to a young child when the sexual activity is occurring," she added.
"The reader is left with a description that creates the visual image in one's mind of an adult male engaging in sexual activity with a young child."
Wearing sunglasses, Mastrosa left the court with her husband and lawyer on Tuesday without speaking to reporters.
She remains on bail and will be sentenced on 18 April.
If you are a child and you need help because something has happened to you, you can call Childline free of charge on 0800 1111. You can also call the NSPCC if you are an adult and you are worried about a child, on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adults on 0808 801 0331
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