A sex predator now facing life in prison for raping a four‑year‑old girl had previously groomed another underage girl online using Skype.
Despite police later uncovering a disturbing cache of child abuse material across three mobile phones bought for him by his father, he initially avoided jail.
Zane Clark, 24, appeared to be an ordinary Maroubra teenager who enjoyed diving and sport fishing with his dad.
In reality, he was grooming underage girls online and, as has now emerged, sexually assaulting a preschool-aged child whose mother knew him personally.
Clark was arrested in Silverwater Correctional Complex in August 2024 for three offences committed more than six years ago at the four-year-old girl’s family home in Sydney’s south.
Last September he pleaded guilty to sexual intercourse with a child under 10 (domestic violence‑related), using a child under 14 to make child abuse material, and an alternative charge of intentionally sexually touching a child under 10.
The first offence carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. He is being held at Silverwater and will be sentenced in March.
The Daily Mail can also reveal how Clark lured a 13‑year‑old girl into online conversations in 2020, attempting to pressure her into sexual activity via Skype.
Zane Clark is now facing life in prison for raping a four-year-old girl previously groomed another underage girl overnight via Skype
Zane Clark’s exchanges with an unidentified person to procure child abuse material
The girl was ultimately protected by her aunt, who alerted police.
Living with his father in Maroubra at the time, Clark used Skype, Instagram and Kik to contact the girl.
According to police facts, he initiated contact just after midnight on March 25, 2020, using the screen name ‘Zane Clark’.
He asked increasingly inappropriate questions, urged her to undress on video calls, and professed ‘love’ for her while attempting to manipulate her into engaging in sexual behaviour.
When the girl hesitated or refused, he became cold and dismissive, attempting emotional pressure and encouraging her to hide their contact.
In later messages, he told her to pretend her phone had been hacked if she ever sent anything compromising, acknowledging he would be jailed if caught.
Over time, the girl’s aunt reported the interactions to police, prompting an investigation. Clark continued messaging intermittently, complaining about her lack of contact and seeking renewed engagement.
In April 2021, the girl was formally interviewed by detectives.
While living at Maroubra with his dad, Clark was secretly grooming an underage girl via Skype and Instagram and urging her to have sex with him
Clark also tried to procure images and videos of young girls engaged in sex with adults
Eleven days later, police arrested Clark in the arrivals hall at Sydney Airport and seized his iPhones.
A subsequent search of his Maroubra flat uncovered two more phones containing multiple child abuse videos and images.
One online exchange between Clark and an unidentified user showed him requesting images of children and specifically asking for material involving victims ’10 or younger.’
He was charged with possessing and controlling child abuse material, using a carriage service to procure a person under 16, and two counts of using a carriage service for child abuse material. Clark received a three‑year prison term.
However, in September 2022 he was released to serve the remainder of his sentence in the community under a recognisance order requiring good behaviour, supervision, and participation in rehabilitation programs.
District Court Judge Gina O’Rourke, who presided over his earlier sentencing, will again oversee proceedings when Clark is sentenced for the offences against the four‑year‑old girl.
