The girl woke to find a man in her bedroom. Police later discovered something very disturbing

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Warning: graphic content

A former senior NSW prison officer and army personnel has been sentenced to prison over the sexual touching of a child, with his DNA located on the victim’s underwear.

Gary Waddell, 62, was sentenced in Downing Local Court last week to 18 months in prison. He is appealing his sentence. The offence occurred while he was on bail for charges of harassing his ex-wife. That charge was later dismissed on mental health grounds.

Gary Waddell was convicted of intentionally sexually touching a child.

NSW Corrective Services has grappled with problematic workplace culture, a Herald investigation has revealed, with rife sexual harassment of female staff and officers convicted of raping inmates.

Waddell entered a room where the child was sleeping and touched her genitals over her underwear. The girl woke up and told him to leave. When he refused, she locked herself in the bathroom and alerted other adults in the home. Waddell’s DNA was found on the girl’s underwear.

The court previously heard he had attempted to take photos of her feet and encouraged the girl to model for him, sell pictures of her feet, and start an OnlyFans account.

Gary Waddell, pictured in 2009, was a member of the NSW Corrective Services Honour Guard.

Police had alleged they found 11 videos of child abuse on Waddell’s phone; however, he was found not guilty in court of a charge of possessing child abuse material.

When asked by Crown prosecutor Ben Edye whether he was sorry, Waddell, appearing via video from prison, crossed his arms and hung his head.

“I’m sorry for the circumstances,” he said.

In a victim impact statement, read to court by the girl’s father, the girl said the assault had deeply affected her mental health and caused nightmares. She described “waking in fear” with memories of Waddell.

“There are times when I feel like the offender is in the same room as me when I try to fall asleep. I have not been able to enjoy the little things that once made me happy ... I find it hard to trust others,” the statement said.

“My life has become much smaller and lonelier because of this crime.”

In his sentencing, Magistrate Hugh Donnelly said Waddell had a sexual interest in the child.

“This was an abhorrent act on a [child] … which has had lasting consequences,” he said.

Waddell has been kept in special conditions since his incarceration in September due to his history as a prison officer. He will also be placed on the child sex offender register for eight years and report annually to police upon his release.

Waddell’s ex-wife, Melanie James, had an Apprehended Violence Order in place in 2014, which he breached. The pair split in 2013.

James also accused Waddell of distributing intimate images of her online, taken both with and without consent.

Waddell agreed to remove the photos in 2016. ‘Revenge porn’ was criminalised in 2017.

James was granted a new AVO for her protection in 2023 after he continued to contact her, and he was charged with using a carriage service to harass her. This charge was later dismissed on mental health grounds.