Read the full, sickening story of how a depraved paedophile molested two girls, 4 and 6, in a front yard by luring them with toys and lollies as the evil predator is thrown behind bars

A depraved paedophile who lured two young girls with a backpack filled with toys and lollies has a sickening history of child sex abuse dating back more than two decades.

Anthony Richard Carr, 68, was sentenced to four years in jail on Wednesday after filming and touching the two girls aged four and six in the front yard of a unit complex in Campsie in Sydney's inner south-west on March 10.

Burwood Local Court heard Carr - who had approached the two girls on a bicycle as they played on a mat - filmed one of the girls' genitalia after moving her clothing.

Bystanders performed a heroic citizen's arrest after a father of one of the girls noticed the elderly sex offender touching one of their thighs and taking photos.

Anthony Richard Carr, 68, was sentenced to four years in jail on Wednesday after filming and touching two girls aged four and six-years-old outside an apartment complex in Campsie, south-west Sydney

Introducing himself as 'Tommy', the predator told the girls 'I'll rest here' as he sat beside them, the court was told, NewsLocal reported.

Carr put both of the girls separately on his lap despite them trying to leave, while a video he took showed him looking down the top of one of the children and putting lollies down their clothing.

'Now this snake… he might like to go there,' he said as he put it down her shirt.

Neighbours and family soon spotted Carr as he pulled out his camera, with the father of one of the girls yelling: 'Why are you taking photos of the kids?'  

Footage shared on social media at the time showed the paedophile groaning after being tackled to the ground. 

'You f***ing mutt. Face down you piece of s**t,' the man who caught him can be heard saying.  

Carr had claimed he was riding his bike and wanted to rest when questioned by police - but officers discovered items including a Canon camera, lollies and a drone in his backpack.

The paedophile, who will be eligible for parole in March 2023, said 'ahhh s****' under his breath as his sentence was read out.

Carr in 1996 was given a seven-year prison sentence after taking a sexually explicit video of a child estimated to be about five-years-old while on holiday in the Phillippines.

The sentence meant he was the first person in Australia to be convicted of 'child sex tourism' - which was a crime named only a year earlier in legislation intended to protect children outside the country from being the victims of sexual abuse by Australians. 

The elderly man allegedly had a bag filled with lollies, soft toys and a drone

In 2009 and 2017, Carr appeared in court charged with the indecent assault of a child under the age of 10-years-old and the production of child abuse respectively.

Carr's lawyer argued his client's level of offending earlier this year was on 'the lower end', and the lollies and chocolate in his bag were for his use.

His lawyer Dan Brown also said Carr's elderly age meant he would be vulnerable if sent to prison. 

The 68-year-old pleaded guilty to intentionally carrying out a sexual act with a child under 10, common assault and producing child abuse material.

The 68-year-old man was riding a bike when he stopped and spoke to the two children in front of the unit complex

A magistrate said Carr had pre-planned the meeting and was on the prowl for victims that day.

'I’m quite satisfied the community needs protection from Mr Carr,' the magistrate said.   

Footage of the dramatic citizens arrest in March showed a police officer thanking the Good Samaritan who intervened after catching Carr carrying out the abuse.

The paedophile can be heard groaning in the footage as he lay on the ground before the man who caught him yelled for him to stay down.  

'He has everything, from lollies, plush toys and drones. Everything that can possibly appeal to any age child – he has it,' the hero bystander said after restraining the man

The elderly man's bag was filled with lollies, soft toys and a drone.  

'He has everything, from lollies, plush toys and drones. Everything that can possibly appeal to any age child – he has it,' the hero bystander said in the footage.

'This is how he lures kids.'   

Hero neighbour Milad Youseff, 31, ran outside and dragged the paedophile away from the girls

Milad Youseff, 31, ran outside and dragged the paedophile away from the girls.

Mr Youseff then detained the 68-year-old until police arrived.

'I saw an older guy sitting on a play mat with two kids and he was touching the younger girl,' the shaken neighbour told 7News.

'That's when I knew wasn't right.'