A South Coast man has pleaded guilty to possessing child abuse material after his wife found screenshots of explicit messages and images involving young girls on his phone.
Warning: This article contains graphic and disturbing content related to child abuse.
William Ruming, 36, was living in Surfside when the material was discovered in August 2021.
One of the group chats the accused was allegedly part of was named Family Enthusiasts, while another was with a person using the alias the Pantie Man.
Police documents tendered to Batemans Bay Local Court on Monday show Mr Ruming interacted with an unidentified person known as Dan Noname who claimed he was sexually abusing a young girl.
In one exchange the accused asked him, "Got any younger?" before asking Dan Noname if he had had intercourse with his daughter.
"Yes, have been for a year now," Dan Noname replied.
The accused then allegedly asked for and received a photo of the abuse.
Among the five conversation threads tendered to the court, one included a conversation about a photo of a young girl in a ballerina outfit.
Wife confronted accused
Police documents show Mr Ruming's wife discovered the series of messages while he was sleeping when she picked up his phone to use it as a torch in their dark bedroom.
After she confronted her husband, Mr Ruming left the family home and checked himself into a mental health facility in Milton.
He handed himself into police on September 10 but refused an interview on legal advice.
Since then, Mr Ruming has moved to Jimboomba in south-east Queensland, but will have to return to Batemans Bay for sentencing.
He will reappear before the Batemans Bay Local Court on August 8.
