The offender was sentenced following a plea of guilty to 1 count of possessing or controlling child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service contrary to s 474.22A(1) of the Commonwealth Criminal Code.
Nature and Circumstances: Offending involved possession of a phone which contained 7 video files which have been categorised as child abuse material. All of these files were categorised as category 2.
Contrition: Offender’s plea is indicative of remorse. Offender’s remorse was demonstrated by a number of factors. Offender was cooperative with investigators and freely gave them passwords to offender’s telephone. Offender regularly attends upon psychologists and a sexologist. Offender has freely engaged in psychological therapy for an ongoing period since their offending. Multiple character references speak of offender’s remorse. Offender wrote a letter of apology to the Court which is a sincere expression of remorse. Offender has demonstrated full and insightful remorse going well beyond their plea of guilty.
Antecedents: Offender has no criminal history. Offender’s family life was not happy as their father was an abusive and critical man. The abuse wore offender’s mother down and she was sometimes a neglectful parent. Offender suffered childhood sexual abuse by a neighbour when they were around 10. Offender’s marriage was not a happy one; offender separated from their wife in 2018. Offender went on to have a more successful relationship however the stresses of lockdown led to it breaking down. Offender was made redundant in 2021.
Offender sentenced to 1 year imprisonment to be released immediately upon entering recognizance of $2,000 to be of good behaviour for 1 year with supervision.
