The offender was sentenced following a plea of guilty to one count of using a carriage service to access child pornography material contrary to s 474.19(1) of the Commonwealth Criminal Code. A further carriage service offence was taken into account pursuant to s 16BA. Offender sentenced for additional state offences.
Nature and Circumstances: Devices contained 28,884 files which constituted child abuse material. Material that offender possessed and accessed included depictions of abhorrent exploitation of very young children including sexual acts involving animals., torture and humiliation. Offending continued over a long period of time from 2005 to 2019. While there is no evidence that offender was involved in the distribution of the material, it is self-evident that conduct involved a degree of planning and organisation in the way the way the offender stored and accessed the material. Offender’s conduct represents a very serious example of this type of offending.
Contrition: Offender’s insight into offending and remorse is limited, which psychologist notes is unsurprising given cognitive difficulties and personality disorder. Offender has expressed that they are sorry for their conduct and has engaged in counselling. There is some concern as to offender’s appreciation of the serious harm caused to children exploited in the material possessed. Offender has begun to develop insight and has shown some remorse for conduct.
Age: Offender is of advanced age. Any period of imprisonment will represent a larger portion of remaining life expectancy. Prison will be a greater burden for offender than is typical for prisoners who do not suffer pre-existing health problems and vulnerabilities.
Offender sentenced to 2 years and 6 months to be released on recognisance after 9 months.
Nature and Circumstances: Devices contained 28,884 files which constituted child abuse material. Material that offender possessed and accessed included depictions of abhorrent exploitation of very young children including sexual acts involving animals., torture and humiliation. Offending continued over a long period of time from 2005 to 2019. While there is no evidence that offender was involved in the distribution of the material, it is self-evident that conduct involved a degree of planning and organisation in the way the way the offender stored and accessed the material. Offender’s conduct represents a very serious example of this type of offending.
Contrition: Offender’s insight into offending and remorse is limited, which psychologist notes is unsurprising given cognitive difficulties and personality disorder. Offender has expressed that they are sorry for their conduct and has engaged in counselling. There is some concern as to offender’s appreciation of the serious harm caused to children exploited in the material possessed. Offender has begun to develop insight and has shown some remorse for conduct.
Age: Offender is of advanced age. Any period of imprisonment will represent a larger portion of remaining life expectancy. Prison will be a greater burden for offender than is typical for prisoners who do not suffer pre-existing health problems and vulnerabilities.
Offender sentenced to 2 years and 6 months to be released on recognisance after 9 months.
