Sydney author loses bid to conceal identity amid charges erotica novel contains child abuse material

An erotica author charged with child abuse offences over content in an unreleased book has had a bid to conceal her identity rejected, despite her lawyer arguing “all she has done is written a fictional novel”. Sydney woman Lauren Tesolin-Mastrosa, 33, who works as a marketing executive at a charity and writes under the pen names Lauren Ashley and Tori Woods, has pleaded not guilty to the three charges: one count of producing, one count of possessing, and another of disseminating child abuse material. On Wednesday, magistrate Rami Attia in Blacktown local court rejected a request to have an interim non-publication order which had guarded Tesolin-Mastrosa’s identity and pen name extended. Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Her solicitor, Mickaela Mate, had argued in a hearing before the same court on Monday that the order should be extended because of the undue distress and embarrassment and threats her client had faced, as well as the nature of the charges. Mate argued the matter was “completely different” to other child abuse allegations because there was no victim. The novel, titled Daddy’s Little Toy, has been described in media reports as being about a relationship between an 18-year-old and her father’s friend. “It is a fictional book where they [the characters] are consenting adults,” Mate told the court. “The words ‘produce child abuse material’ usually infer there is a child being made to or having sexual acts done to them … but that is entirely not the case. “That association with child abuse material, paedophilia … causes in my respectful submission undue respect and embarrassment when really all [Tesolin-Mastrosa] has done is written a fictional novel.” The court heard the book had not yet gone on sale to the public and had only been made available to a pre-release group of 20 advance readers. Mate also said that the allegation was “applied” by the police before “even reading the book or obtaining a copy of the book”. Mate had also argued that her client’s identity should be concealed, given Tesolin-Mastrosa and the allegations were so “memorable”. “It’s my submission that it is so memorable because my client is otherwise so ordinary,” Mate said. “It is a young woman who has a family, and works at a Christian charity as a marketing executive. “The fact is now my client is being referred to and thought of as a paedophile.” Mate said that her client was being harassed and threatened by people online and that “the majority of them” had not read the book. Mate also said that Tesolin-Mastrosa had been followed by a person with a camera. “I have read the book and some of the comments that are here are just entirely wrong,” Mate said. Matthew Lewis SC, who challenged the non-publication order on behalf of News Corp, had argued the “horse had bolted” over concealing Tesolin-Mastrosa’s identity, with news of who she was already going “viral throughout the world”. “The image, name, facts, pen name … It’s already in the international community,” he told the court. Tesolin-Mastrosa is on conditional bail and will face court again on 5 June.