David Paul Sawtell was jailed for five years and seven months when he appeared in the Dunedin District Court this week after pleading guilty to 13 charges.
In just two months he committed crimes against six victims, luring them into sordid acts with offers of cash.
Sawtell told police he targeted teens because they were cheaper when they were younger.
The 37-year-old — through his Snapchat handle "Sugardaddynz22" — became so renowned among vulnerable girls in Dunedin that they would approach him, seeking money in exchange for sexual favours.
As a registered child sex offender, Sawtell should not have had an internet-capable cellphone, nor was he allowed secret social-media accounts.
In January 2019, he was jailed for 27 months after being caught with more than 1000 objectionable digital files.
Some videos involved children as young as 2, others showed pre-teens being violated by adults and performing sex acts on animals.
While the crimes were not linked to his work with the Scouts, a former colleague told the Otago Daily Times the fiasco had "dragged everybody back 10 years".
Sawtell was released at his first parole hearing after the board heard he was a low risk of reoffending.
Though he saw out his time under the gaze of Corrections without incident, within a couple of months his predatory pursuit of teen girls began.
In January, Sawtell began communicating with a 14-year-old girl on Snapchat, advising her he would pay for graphic photos: $20 for images he could save and $30 per video.
The court heard he would provide the teen and her friend with cash and alcohol on a weekly basis, as well as a cellphone, food, an Intercity bus ticket and rides in his vehicle.
Sawtell kept a running tally of their debt and later told police if they did not pay back the cash, they could have repaid him in sex once they turned 16.
After paying a 15-year-old for nude photos, they organised a sexual encounter, which also involved one of her friends.
As he did on other occasions, Sawtell provided cash in advance, with more once the deed was done — a total of $850 in that instance.
In February, the defendant met two other 15-year-olds in South Dunedin and they found a bushy area near a tennis club where a three-minute sexual liaison occurred.
Just days later the trio met again.
After buying fast food for the girls, Sawtell went behind the Dunedin Ice Stadium with them where more lewd acts took place.
He gave the victims cash and alcohol.
Further trysts had been organised by Sawtell with two of the girls but did not take place because of his arrest on March 8.
Judge Michael Turner called it "targeted, premeditated and predatory behaviour".
One of the victims, who had run away from home and was desperate for money at the time, said she viewed Sawtell as a father figure, a role she believed he exploited.
Another, who was in the care of Oranga Tamariki, was described as a "highly vulnerable young person" by her social worker.
She was now in therapy to address the fallout from the crimes, the court heard.
Counsel John Wesgate stressed his client had made a comprehensive confession to police, which included crimes of which they were unaware.
Sawtell, he said, wanted to attend Kia Marama, an intensive prison programme for child sex offenders.
Crown prosecutor Richard Smith argued a minimum non-parole period should be imposed for the protection of the community.
Judge Turner agreed.
Sawtell will be eligible for parole in January 2026.
