'Stay off the drugs': Judge spares teen drug dealer, sex worker, from doing time

A NSW university student who was caught dealing drugs and working as a prostitute was spared jail because the judge took pity on her downward spiral and noted her efforts to rehabilitate.

Sydney Biochemistry student Madeline Sawyer, 19, was caught in a car with a fellow Western Sydney University student Fadhil Al Khafaji behind the wheel last October, who police say was a disqualified driver and driving erratically.

When officers pulled the vehicle over, two capsules of MDMA were found in the front console, according to police documents.

The bust triggered a raid on Sawyer’s home where cocaine, ice, ecstasy and a set of electronic scales, as well as $3,660 in cash were found.

Investigating her phone revealed Sawyer had been allegedly selling drugs to her clients as a sex worker, as well as to other university students.

The find included 28 capsules of MDMA powder, 11 grams of cocaine and 11 individual gram bags filled with the drug ‘ice’, according to a police statement.

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Sawyer initially claimed the drugs were all "for personal use" and the cash found with them was income from her "employment as a prostitute".

Her lawyer Paul Meehan told the judge that Sawyer made a "big mistake" and had "done everything to put it right since".

She later pleaded guilty to six supply and possession charges and one count of dealing with suspected proceeds of crime.

Mr Khafaji pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited drug and driving a motor vehicle while disqualified.

Sawyer was due to be sentenced on in July at Parramatta District Court, but instead Judge John Pickering requested a report be prepared to determine if she has quit working in the sex industry.

At the time, he said he would give Sawyer an Intensive Correction Order as an "alternative" to time behind bars, if the report proved she had turned her life around.

He expressed concerns of Sawyer's involvement in the sex industry, as it was alleged she sold drugs to her clients.

"This report is in your interests," the Judge told Sawyer, who said her fate rests in her ability to turn a corner and remove herself from working in the sex industry.

Sawyer returned to Campbelltown District Court on Thursday, where the Judge Pickering handed down his sentence of an 18-month intensive corrections order for three drug supply and possession offences.

"She just jumped on a train and went to the riskiest place," Judge Pickering said.

The court heard Sawyer's struggle with depression, an eating disorder, and her use of cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA shortly after her 18th birthday.

"People have had worse things in their life happen," the judge told the young woman, who stood in the dock with mascara running down her face.

"You've got your whole life in front of you.

"Stay off the drugs," he said.

As part of the order, Sawyer will is required to undergo regular drug testing, mental health counselling, and her progress in finding employment will be monitored.