CCTV footage of Sterling Free luring a young girl away from a Kmart in Brisbane. CREDIT: 9 News

Members of a public gallery were in tears as footage of a young girl's Kmart toy aisle abduction was played in court today.

A 27-year-old man who confessed to taking the seven-year-old girl before sexually assaulting her was in Brisbane District Court for sentencing.

Footage shown to the court today showed Free, a father of two daughters, milling around the toy section of Kmart for about 20 minutes around lunchtime.

Meanwhile, the girl goes from aisle to aisle while periodically returning to her mother.

Her and Free’s interaction in an aisle is not shown on CCTV, but she follows him closely out of the store and centre.

He took her to bushland about 30 minutes away, into an area not visible from the road.

After molesting her, he carried her back to the car and returned her to the centre more than an hour later, helping her cross a road to the entrance.

Footage shows the girl in the arms of her mother at the service desk.

Crown prosecutor Judy Geary labelled Free’s offending brazen, determined, deliberate and predatory.

The incident has had a “significant impact” on the girl, Ms Geary said. “He used her for his own sexual gratification,” she said.

Free’s semen was found on the girl’s clothing, the court heard. His defence barrister admitted his offending was appalling but claimed he had shown “genuine remorse” and was cooperative with police.

After his offending, Free claimed he “snapped out of it”, broke down in tears and “felt horrible”.

He “hated every bit of” his abusive actions.

A porn addict with a pedophilic disorder who was himself abused, Free had trouble controlling his impulses, the court heard.

But Judge Julie Dick said it was “obvious” premeditation.

“There’s an aspect of this that doesn’t look too impulsive” she said.

Judge Dick will hand down her sentence on Friday.

Free has been in protective custody in prison ever since his arrest and pleaded guilty to taking a child for immoral purposes, indecent treatment of a child under 12 and deprivation of liberty.

He could face anywhere up to 20 years in prison, but his lawyer Shaune Irving is hopeful he’ll get somewhere between six and nine years.

Being interviewed on Sunrise this morning, he told Natalie Barr his client would “serve a significant portion of that before being eligible for parole”.

However, Barr then threw a difficult question at him, asking how he would feel if his child was the victim.

He revealed that he has a seven-year-old daughter himself.

“It is quite a difficult question and one that I have been asked many times,” he said. “Ultimately, my job is to make sure that Sterling Free has a fair sentence and that all the facts are before the court.

“Six-to-nine years is what we estimate the offending on the relevant cases in the legislation that is currently before the courts as well. That is still something that needs to play out in his sentence today.”

He said he had to be “very mindful” not to put his personal view forward and that the most important thing today is to ensure the court proceedings are brought to a close, for the victim’s sake.

“I think the more important thing is to ensure that we don’t expose this young victim to any further, unnecessary trauma by having to attend court or go through that process of a trial and really try and afford her the protection because it is something that is no doubt that family is dealing with and something that we need to be very mindful of and sympathetic towards,” he said.

In July, CCTV footage emerged from the Westfield North Lakes shopping centre that shows the disturbing moments before the little girl is convinced to follow Free from the store.

It shows Free stalking the aisles around the children’s toys section of the store then doubling back.

He tells the child to “follow me” before she starts walking behind him out of the store.

CCTV footage from inside the Westfield shows the pair walk straight past hundreds of other shoppers and out the door.

The Courier-Mail reported that Free was kept in isolation because of threats to him and his family.

The 27-year-old is the father of twin girls and lives with his long-term partner.

Prior to his arrest Free had worked at a local Fantastic Furniture store after he had spent a number of months working as a FIFO contractor in the Western Australia mines.

Mr Irving, told reporters outside court in July that his client was sorry.

“Mr Free’s actions and his instructions to us demonstrate a level of remorse,” he said.