Female marketing executive for a religious charity is charged with child abuse material offences after a flurry of complaints about her erotic fiction book ‘Daddy’s Little Toy’
A controversial book describing the relationship between a girl and her father’s friend has led to the arrest of its author on child abuse material charges.
Lauren Tesolin-Mastrosa, who writes under the pen name ‘Tori Woods’, came under fire for her book Daddy’s Little Toy.
The book, with a cover featuring children’s building blocks, described a man who speaks about how he desired the now 18-year-old since she was a young child.
Readers who got advanced copies for review alleged the book made graphic references to fantasising about the teenager since she was just three years old, the Daily Telegraph reported.
The Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation received complaints about the book and the Australian Federal Police referred them to New South Wales Police who arrested her on Friday.
‘About 12.30pm detectives attended a home on Penn Street, Quakers Hill, and arrested a 33-year-old woman before being taken to Riverstone Police Station,’ NSW Police said in a statement.
‘At the home, police executed a search warrant, seizing several hard copies of the novel to be forensically examined.’
Tesolin-Mastrosa, who also works as a BaptistCare marketing executive, was charged with possessing child abuse material, disseminating child abuse material, and producing child abuse material.
Lauren Tesolin-Mastrosa came under fire for her book Daddy’s Little Toy
She was granted conditional bail and will appear before Blacktown Local Court on March 31.
A BaptistCare spokeswoman said the organisation would not comment on individual employees’ circumstances.
‘We can confirm that we received complaints regarding an unnamed employee,’ the spokeswoman said.
‘As a result of these complaints, the employee was stood down effective March 20 while we undertake an internal investigation.
‘BaptistCare takes matters of ethical conduct seriously. Our focus remains on upholding the values and integrity of our organisation.’
Prior to her arrest, Tesolin-Mastrosa took to social media to say the backlash from her book was a ‘big misunderstanding’.
‘DLT is definitely not promoting or inciting anything ever to do with (child sexual abuse) or pedophilia,’ she wrote.
‘What is being said is grossly disturbing and breaks my heart as well as makes me sick.’
The cover of the controversial book which got Lauren Tesolin-Mastrosa in hot water is pictured
Tesolin-Mastrosa then took down her social media accounts and her book was also removed from Amazon and GoodReads.
Georgia Stove designed the cover and claimed she had since received death threats.
‘I have cut ties with Tori Woods, effective immediately,’ she said in a statement.
She claimed she did not know what was in the book when she designed the front cover.
‘All I had known about the book was the blurb which read ‘barely legal’ and in my mind I truly thought that was okay,’ she said.
‘I am here to answer any questions you may have. Just please stop with the threats over something I had no say in.’
Ms Tesolin-Mastrosa was a former journalist for News Corp.
