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Disgraced YouTube comedian Marcus Dibble avoids jail after grooming underage girl for sex

Steve ZemekAlbany Advertiser
Former Albany man Marcus Dibble has been placed on the sex offender registry.
Camera IconFormer Albany man Marcus Dibble has been placed on the sex offender registry. Credit: YouTube

A YouTube comedian and nude model photographer from Albany who groomed an underage girl for sex has avoided jail.

Marcus Dibble was on Tuesday sentenced in Melbourne Magistrate’s Court after pleading guilty to a string of charges including grooming a child to engage in sexual conduct and producing child abuse material.

The 27-year-old, who grew up in Albany, gained hundreds of thousands of YouTube subscribers for his online antics, including rants and call-out videos.

He was arrested after the mother of his victim complained to police about his communications with the teenager following his request to meet her at a rented house.

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Magistrate Ross Maxted sentenced Dibble to an 18-month community corrections order and imposed a $5000 fine.

“I’m very conscious of the effect this offending has had on the victim by way of stress and anxiety,” Mr Maxted said.

Marcus Dibble filming in Albany in 2014.
Camera IconMarcus Dibble filming in Albany in 2014.

But Mr Maxted said the community’s concerns could be mitigated by way of a community corrections order, and Dibble was unlikely to reoffend.

He said Dibble had received death threats and been forced to abandon his YouTube channels after his offending was exposed.

Mr Maxted said Dibble had moved to Queensland to make a fresh start but had since lost his job because of newspaper coverage.

According to court documents, the girl was between 13 and 15 years old at the time of their communications.

She first messaged him via Instagram in April 2019 on his “dibbleprime” account, which he used for his nude photography business, after he posted a questionnaire hoping to attract new models.

From the outset, the girl told him she was 13 and soon to turn 14, to which he responded “fine”.

YouTube comedian and nude model photographer Marcus Dibble has avoided jail.
Camera IconYouTube comedian and nude model photographer Marcus Dibble has avoided jail. Credit: Instagram

During the course of their communications, Dibble engaged in sexualised conversations with the girl via email, Snapchat and Instagram.

He encouraged her to take sexualised photos and sent her pictures of bare-breasted women as “inspo”.

As well as conversations about school and her relationship with her parents, Dibble also engaged in discussions with the girl about sex.

During one phone call, he told the girl he was masturbating while thinking about her.

And in another conversation, while encouraging her to talk about her sexual experiences, he said words to the effect of: “If I kissed you, rubbed your back and neck, choke you from the back, have sex with you in different ways, would you like that?”

His offending was discovered in mid-2020 when he told the victim he was going to rent an Airbnb for his photography business and encouraged her to turn up.

Marcus Dibble was arrested after his victim’s family reported to police his request to meet at an Airbnb.
Camera IconMarcus Dibble was arrested after his victim’s family reported to police his request to meet at an Airbnb. Credit: NCA NewsWire/Andrew Henshaw.

He rented the house from July 5-7 but the girl did not show up.

Later that month, he asked the girl when she was turning 16 and if she wanted to meet after that.

The next day, the victim told her mother about Dibble’s request to meet at an Airbnb, prompting her family to contact police.

Officers raided his home and found steroids.

They discovered an image of the victim that had been altered so that it was sexually suggestive and with a lewd caption attached.

He pleaded guilty to grooming to engage in sexual conduct, producing child abuse material, possessing child abuse material and distributing child abuse material, as well as possessing anabolic and androgenic steroids.

He was also placed on the sex offender registry.

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