Socialite turned sex worker jailed over supplying drugs to feed addiction

A disgraced Sydney, Australia socialite broke down in court she described how she turned to sex work and selling drugs to fund her $1,000-a-day drug addiction.

Alexandra Moss was jailed for just under two years on Friday for dealing large quantities of drugs from her rental home in Rose Bay, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

The 27-year-old was arrested after police phone taps revealed photos of her smiling and posing with bulging bags of cannabis, mounds of cocaine, and cartons of GHB.

Police also discovered messages in which she brazenly discussed the supply, storage, and sale of drugs with friends and customers.

On Friday, Moss told the NSW District Court she was dealing drugs to feed her “incredibly bad (cocaine) habit” which she estimates would have cost between $700 and $1000 a day.

The former eastern suburbs It-girl admitted she dealt illegal drugs between December 2020 and April 2021 to fund her “very expensive” addiction.

The court heard she dealt more than 500g of cocaine over the time and was in possession of more than 9.6kg of 1,4-Butanediol (a dangerous precursor to ‘date rape’ drug GHB) when she was arrested.

Police discovered numerous photos and videos on Moss’ phone of drugs, including photos of her holding two bulging bags of cannabis next to her clearly visible and smiling face.

Judge John Pickering quipped she “made life fairly easy for the police” by documenting her crimes on her phone.

“She basically incriminates herself by taking photos and providing pretty strong breadcrumbs upon her arrest,” he said.

The court heard Moss had been introduced to drugs at the age of 17 while working at a medical practice in Sydney.

“She was introduced to drugs by people who had no business using drugs let alone supplying a teenage employee,” her lawyer Phillip Boulten told the court.

“This is a disgraceful thing that happened to this … vulnerable young woman.”

The court heard 27-year-old turned to sex work because it paid in cash, which Judge Pickering termed “the currency of drug supply”.

Pictures confiscated by police show Moss in possession of large amounts of cash, which she said she made through sex work rather than supplying drugs.

Since she was arrested for the drug charges, the Rose Bay resident has been diagnosed with ADHD, society, depression and stimulant use disorder.

Mr. Boulten argued she medicated her “undiagnosed cognitive impairment” with cocaine, which calmed her and allowed her to concentrate.

“It was a form of self-medication that destroyed her dignity, destroyed her self-worth, destroyed her career prospects and led her into very very degrading life circumstances,” he said.

The defense lawyer told the court his client’s state of mind was “scrambled” by her heavy daily use of cocaine and she was unable to comprehend the impact of her offending.

Moss testified on Friday that she was “ashamed” and “disappointed in herself”, but her arrest had been a wake-up call.

“I believe because I was in such a drug state, my state of mind was not where it is today,” she said.

“I believe if I didn’t get captured that day, I would have overdosed.”

Judge Pickering accepted her evidence that she supplied drugs because she herself was a significant cocaine user.

“The offender is a good example of why cocaine should not be held up as a good drug, a glamorous drug,” he said.

“Her life went on a downward spiral … and here she is facing probably one of the worst days of her life.”

The judge told Moss that supporting her habit by supplying a “significant amount” of cocaine through Sydney had “involved inflicting a lot of misery on other people”.

Moss was also charged with supplying a large commercial amount of gammabutyrolactane (GBL), another precursor for GHB, after police traced a large container of the liquid to her possession.

Judge Pickering deemed she had been “naive” about the drug, which was out of her comfort zone of cocaine and cannabis.

He told the court he was not convinced the 27-year-old had supplied the drug to anyone.

“She knew she had a valuable asset but she didn’t know how to use it,” he said.

The judge agreed that Moss’ mental health issues had likely contributed to her “impulsive decision-making”.

He recognized that imprisonment would likely result in “significant deterioration of her mental state” due to her mental health diagnoses, but he stressed it was the only punishment for her offending.

The former socialite previously spent two days in custody on remand before she was released on bail.

On the day she was released, she told the court she went back to her apartment and snorted the leftover cocaine. She testified she has not touched illegal drugs since then.

The court heard Moss spent five months in rehabilitation centers, and was working full-time while studying criminology in a bid to help others avoid the same mistakes she made.

“You can’t have done any more as an offender to pull yourself out or the mire than she’s done,” Mr. Boulten said.

Judge Pickering agreed that her commitment to rehabilitation, her mental health issues, and her relative youth were grounds for a “very substantial finding of special circumstance”.

“Proven rehabilitation is way more impressive than promised rehabilitation,” he said.

He sentenced Moss to a maximum of four years and four months behind bars, with a nonparole period of 23 months.

The sentence was backdated to January 23 to account for time in custody and rehabilitation, so the 27-year-old will be eligible for release in December 2024.

“I find you are likely to lead a successful life upon completion of this issue,” the judge told Moss.

Dressed in a black dress and blazer with dark lipstick, the former socialite sobbed into her scarf throughout the proceedings.

As she was taken into custody, she smiled through her tears and blew a kiss at her family and friends assembled in the courtroom.