EXCLUSIVE: Loathed 'ghillie suit' paedophile who dragged a girl, 12, into bushland as she walked to school, tied her to a tree and raped her wants to get of jail EARLY - because his 28-year sentence is 'excessive'
- 'Ghillie suit rapist' Troy Stephen Johnson is appealing his 28 year jail sentence
- Abducted, raped and tortured a 12-year-old girl on her way to school in 2017
- 'Society has no place for a person like you,' he was condemned on sentence
- Johnson, a pig hunter and former NBN contractor, has launched his appeal
- His lawyer confirmed grounds included 'manifestly excessive' sentence
A paedophile condemned to a 28-year jail term for abducting, torturing and raping a young girl is appealing his decades-long sentence claiming it is 'manifestly excessive'.
Father-of-three Troy Stephen Johnson was camouflaged in a full-body 'ghillie suit' when he grabbed a 12-year-old girl as she walked down a bush track to school on May 15, 2017.
Johnson, 34, then tortured and sexually abused the adolescent for up to an hour, at Narara, on the New South Wales' Central Coast, until she was released and reported his features to police.
During his sentencing last year, Judge David Wilson likened the one-time NBN contractor to the 'devil', praised his victim's courage and bluntly told the rapist: 'Society has no place for a person like you'.
'Your conduct suggests you are a person who is simply depraved.'
'Ghillie suit rapist' and pig hunter Troy Stephen Johnson (pictured) is appealing his 28 year jail sentence for abducting and sexually assaulting a schoogirl, Daily Mail Australia can reveal
Daily Mail Australia can reveal Johnson gave his lawyers the nod to launch an appeal to the state's highest court in recent weeks, while behind bars at the South Coast Correctional Facility.
His defence solicitor Ross Hill confirmed that a ground of Johnson's appeal will be that the convicted rapist's sentence is 'manifestly excessive'. 'Yes - that is the case,' he confirmed.
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Despite the depravity of Johnson's crimes, sources in the legal fraternity were surprised by the length of the sentence that was handed down by Judge Wilson at the time.
Johnson was handed a 21-year minimum non-parole period, meaning he could be eligible for release in 2040. His face was only allowed to be shown after media applied to overturn a suppression order on his identity.
During his sentencing, Judge Wilson said Johnson had engaged in 'truly evil conduct' and described him as too 'cowardly' to express remorse or admit his paedophilic behaviour to his victim from the witness box.
He warned him he was receiving a harsh jail sentence due to the devastating impact this crimes had on the victim.
'You told your psychiatrist the devil must be responsible - you were correct,' Judge Wilson said.
Johnson (pictured) grabbed the girl, 12, from behind as she walked to school on May 15, 2017. Armed with a knife and a large tree branch, he tied the girl to a tree during the one-hour long ordeal
Sentencing documents previously seen by Daily Mail Australia revealed how detectives were able to track down Johnson after his victim memorised her attacker's baseball cap and facial features.
Johnson had been tracking the girl for weeks prior to the attack, even snapping photos of her walking along the same track previously.
Court documents said the sight of the horrifying mask startled the schoolgirl, who yelled 'stop, stop, stop' as he threatened to hit her with a stick.
Johnson then put the girl in a headlock and dragged her to a clearing where he tied her to a tree with cable ties.
After eventually being cut loose, the girl ran to school crying, where she told a friend's mother at the canteen what had happened.
The school rang 000 at 9.04am.
That day, court documents said Johnson arrived at work late about 9.30am, after having missed several text messages and calls from his workmates.
He was covered in dirt, grass and tree mater but told his colleagues he had been involved in a peculiar road rage incident where he chased a driver into the bush and fell.
Johnson was wearing this terrifying homemade combination of a camouflage baseball cap and face covering material when he attacked. The brave young girl was able to memorise features of his outfit, that later helped police to identify him
During a raid on his home following his arrest in August 2017, police found a 'rape kit' which contained hunting knives, camouflage clothing and cable ties
The married father-of-three tied her to a tree using cable ties and assaulted her for nearly an hour
Documents said police pieced together other evidence which led them to arrest Johnson two months after the fact.
A police car had captured a Ford Escape being driven by Johnson just 1.5kms from the crime scene at 9.07am, just four minutes after the 000 call.
Mobile phone tower 'pings' also placed Johnson's phone in the vicinity of the attack.
Internet records showed Johnson had trawled adult videos while holding the girl captive.
Sickeningly, the court heard he had boasted to a friend that he had sexually abused a girl, saying: 'Dude, you'll never guess what i just did'.
He also claimed to have a contingency plan in case he got caught, telling his friend that he would 'kill himself by taking a large dose of insulin'. He did not succeed.
An appeal hearing will be held on July 13.
This photo of Johnson wearing a Ghillie suit on a hunting trip was found on his phone by police
The court heard Johnson had called a friend after the attack, boasting: 'You'll never guess what I just did' (pictured is the scene of the horrific assault)
During his sentencing hearing on Friday, he was ordered to look at his victim, now 14, as she delivered a tearful impact statement to the court
