A Northern Territory reality TV star has been jailed for horrific child abuse offences.
Paul Henwood, a Muk Muk Marranunggu traditional owner who once starred in a crocodile-hunting series on History Channel, was last Wednesday sentenced to three years and five months behind bars.
The court heard how in February 2023, Henwood, 53, used Instagram to send a photo of him sitting on the toilet with an erect penis to an 11-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl, according to The n.
‘The communication was highly sexualised, and you told the child victim you were looking for a young woman to play with,’ judge John Burns said.
‘You referred to the victim as “babe” and asked if she was a virgin.’
Henwood offered drugs and money to the children and said it was his fantasy to ‘play with a young virgin girl’.
He had also subjected several other children to physical and emotional abuse, the court heard.
Children in his care would sometimes be left without food for two days because he had spent his money on cigarettes, coffee and soft drink.
He threw objects at the children like shoes and belts and called them names like ‘stupid b****’ and ‘mongrel c****’.
The children also discovered a ‘large suitcase with sex toys’ at the property.
Henwood starred in the 2012 History Channel series Outback Hunters, where he revealed his methods for hunting saltwater crocodiles.
He is also a former member of the Northern Territory’s Northern Land Council.
In posts on social media he described himself as a single father with four children.
Henwood pleaded guilty to seven offences, including four counts of failure to provide the necessities of life and three counts of aggravated assault.
He also pleaded guilty to two commonwealth charges: using a carriage service to procure a person believed to be under 16 years of age, and using a carriage service to transmit indecent communication to a person believed to be under 16.
Henwood will be eligible for parole on July 15 2026.