A former marketing executive for a Christian charity has taken legal action to contest her conviction for authoring a controversial novel. Lauren Ashley Mastrosa, 34, who writes under the pseudonym Tori Woods, is challenging the legal repercussions following the release of her book, which includes explicit content involving a teenager masquerading as a toddler.
Mastrosa’s novel, titled Daddy’s Little Toy, was published in March 2025 but was soon withdrawn from the market. This action followed a CrimeStoppers report, which resulted in her subsequent arrest. In April, she was sentenced to an 18-month community corrections order after the book was made available to a limited group of early readers.
The narrative of the book centers around an 18-year-old character named Lucy, who engages in role-playing as a toddler with Arthur, a man significantly older than her and a close friend of her father’s. The storyline, deemed inappropriate by authorities, led to Mastrosa’s conviction and her placement on the Child Protection Register for a duration of eight years.
Immediately after the sentencing, Mastrosa initiated an appeal against both her conviction and the sentence handed down, seeking to overturn the decision and clear her name.
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.
After her sentence Mastrosa immediately filed an appeal of her sentence and conviction, which placed 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 the 34-year-old spent months writing highly sexualised content involving a young girl that spanned chapters of the book.
“General deterrence looms large and the sexual exploitation of children even from such an unsuspecting defendant cannot be minimised,” the judge said at the time.
Earlier, high-profile criminal barrister Margaret Cunneen SC argued her client had simply made a mistake.
“She was planning to write an erotic book, she wasn’t planning to write child abuse material,” Cunneen told the court.
“She’s not a pedophile, she’s someone who wrote a book which offended against the law.”
Prosecutors pushed for a conviction, saying the book normalised child abuse material and fuelled the market of child exploitation.
In the novel, Arthur refers to Lucy as “baby girl” or “my little girl”.
The teen is also described as engaging in child-like behaviour such as having tantrums, needing to be bathed, wearing nappies and playing with children’s toys.
Mastrosa was found guilty of producing, possessing and distributing child abuse material.
Her appeal will come before Parramatta District Court next month.
The 34-year-old was stood down from her role as a marketing executive for Christian charity BaptistCare when the allegations came to light and her employment has since ended.
