A former scout master who plied a 14-year-old boy with alcohol and then raped him during a scout camp in Sydney has been jailed for at least four years.
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Kellyville data centre technician Jeffrey Steven Steel, 49, pleaded guilty to the historical rape after a secretly recorded phone call was allowed as evidence in his NSW District Court trial.
In the phone call with the victim in 2018, Steel admitted forcing him to have sex during a camp at Narrabeen in 1992, apologised deeply for being "stupid" and urged the victim not to go to the police.
But the police were already listening in, having organised the call.
Steel also pleaded guilty to three sexual offences related to an encounter with a 17-year-old boy in 1998 at a home at Wisemans Ferry.
In one offence, the victim withdrew consent during intercourse.
District Court Judge Robyn Tupman on Wednesday accepted forensic evidence that Steel was not pedophilic but his criminal conduct was related to experimenting with his sexuality and a heavy dependence on illicit drugs and alcohol.
She also gave weight to the fact his criminal record had been clean since he gave up drugs in 2003.
Accounting for time served, Steel's maximum term of six years expires in August 2025. He will be eligible for parole in August 2023.
Australian Associated Press
