Western Australian father David John Farnell caught up in the surrogacy scandal, was found guilty of more than 20 child sex charges against four girls, the youngest aged just five-years-old.
The revelations come as West Australian child protective services attempt to locate David and his wife Wendy to discuss the child they obtained via a Thai surrogate. The pair allegedly abandoned their daughter’s twin brother Gammy, who was born with Down syndrome and a congenital heart condition, in Thailand with his surrogate mother.
Court documents have revealed new details about David John Farnell of Bunbury, who was investigated in two separate cases in 1997 and 1998.
He first pleaded guilty to a number of indecent offences against girls under the age of 13, which took place in 1982 and 1983, when he was around 25 years old.
In this case, the court heard he had secretly invited young girls back to a garden shed where he would touch them.
Victim impact statements from the girls revealed they had suffered emotional issues, depression and sexual problems following the abuse.
“None of that is surprising because you, by your conduct, robbed these girls of their childhood,” Judge O’Sullivan said in sentencing Farnell to three years’ jail.
The following year he again faced court to contest five counts of indecent dealings with children. He was found guilty of four and served 18 months for each count. During sentencing, the judge pointed out Farnell’s “refusal to accept any guilt and, of course, there is no remorse”.
Mr and Mrs Farnell have not been seen since the claims emerged last week. On Wednesday, authorities visited the pair’s home for a second time in an attempt to interview them.
While the pair have not been seen since Monday, they are not considered missing.
Since the details of Farnell’s past have surfaced, Gammy’s 21-year-old surrogate mother Pattaramon Chanbua, who claims the pair abandoned the baby boy, says she wants his twin sister returned to Thailand.
“Personally, when I heard the news, I was shocked. But I can’t say anything much right now,” Ms Chanbua said at a press conference in Thailand on Tuesday.
“I want her back because she’s my baby. She was in my womb.”
“If [the allegations] are proved to be true, I would like to bring my daughter back to Thailand.”
However the surrogate agent says the couple did offer to take baby Gammy back to Australia with them and didn’t abandon him.
“Nobody knows what happened. They deserve a better judgement from people,” she said of the Western Australian couple.
Ms Chanbua herself is also facing an investigation from Thai authorities. She was told she would receive around $16,000 by a Thai surrogacy agency to act as a surrogate for the couple last December. Receiving payment for surrogacy in Thailand is a contravention of the country’s human trafficking laws.
Mr and Mrs Farnell released a statement via a family friend on Tuesday, following claims they abandoned Gammy.
“This has been absolutely devastating for them – they’re on the edge,” the friend said.
“Legally they’ve been told not to say anything but they wouldn’t be able to anyway. Gammy was very sick when he was born and the biological parents were told he would not survive and he had a day, at best, to live and to say goodbye.”
However, a spokesman from the Thai hospital where Gammy is currently being treated for pneumonia says the child doesn’t have a life-threatening heart condition.
“We had a cardiology expert run a check on his heart and we are happy to say he has no heart disease to worry about,” a Samitivej Sriracha Hospital spokesman told the Bangkok Post.
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