Charity worker appeals conviction over child abuse book

An author who wrote a taboo novel with sexualised content in which a teenager pretends to be a toddler has launched a legal battle against her conviction.

Lauren Ashley Mastrosa, 34, is a former marketing manager for a Christian charity who wrote Daddy’s little toy under the pseudonym Tori Woods.

In April, she was sentenced to an 18-month community corrections order for the book, which was released to a handful of previous readers in March 2025.

It was pulled from wider publication after a CrimeStopper complaint led to her arrest.

The novel featured an 18-year-old woman named Lucy who role-plays as a toddler with Arthur, an older man who is her father’s best friend.

Following her sentence, Mastrosa immediately appealed her sentence and conviction, leaving her on the Child Protection Register for eight years.

The details of her legal challenge were seen by AAP yesterday.

In April, Judge Bree Chisholm found that the 34-year-old wrote highly sexualized content about a young girl for months, covering chapters of the book.

“General deterrence is strong and the sexual exploitation of children, even by such an unsuspecting defendant, cannot be minimized,” the judge said at the time.

Previously, high-profile criminal lawyer Margaret Cunneen SC argued that her client had simply made a mistake.

“She intended to write an erotic book, she did not intend to write child abuse material,” Cunneen told the court.

“She is not a pedophile, she is someone who wrote a book that is against the law.”

Prosecutors pushed for a conviction, saying the book normalized child abuse material and fueled the child exploitation market.

In the novel, Arthur refers to Lucy as “baby girl” or “my little girl”.

The teen is also described as exhibiting childish behavior such as tantrums, needing to take baths, wearing diapers, and playing with children’s toys.

Mastrosa was found guilty of producing, possessing and distributing child pornography.

Her appeal will come before the Parramatta District Court next month.

The 34-year-old was fired from her role as marketing manager for Christian charity BaptistCare when the allegations came to light and her employment has since ended.