Music teacher Philip Allen Jones sentenced after court hears he viewed pornography involving children younger than three
A court has heard the reason why a music teacher says he started viewing disturbing child porn involving kids younger than three.
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A music teacher began viewing child pornography - including images involving toddlers younger than three years old - after hearing loss left him feeling bored and socially isolated, a court has heard.
Philip Allen Jones, 60, accessed the exploitation material after more than a decade working with children, but walked from jail with a suspended sentence.
The District Court heard Jones, of Glenelg North, began viewing pornography on a “fairly heavy basis” from the end of last year, after he was let go from his job as a music teacher because of funding issues.
He had been teaching specialty percussion lessons on a weekly basis at Immanuel College for the previous 12 months, and had earlier taught at Mercedes College for about 10 years.
Sarah Willis, for Jones, told the court his situation has been made worse by a gradual decline in hearing loss following a punctured eardrum about five years ago.
“Hearing loss would be difficult for anyone to deal with but it’s been made more devastating in my client’s case as Mr Jones is a musician and a music teacher by trade,” she said.
“Mr Jones felt like an important part of his identity and his ability to work was slowly being stripped away from him.”
Ms Willis said her client, who was also a performing musician, felt bored after he stopped socialising with friends and began to spend large amounts of time at home alone.
“As a result of that, he began to regularly consume pornography,” she said.
She said the child exploitation images were “only a very small proportion” of the pornography police found on his devices, and the majority involved consenting adults.
But prosecutors said the offending was serious given the very young age of the children and the fact that it took place over an eight-month period.
They said some of the pictures and videos fell into the most serious categories of child exploitation material.
Jones pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated possessing child exploitation material.
For reasons including his good prior record and remorse, he was handed a wholly-suspended 20-month non-parole period on a good behaviour bond.
He covered his face and made no comment as he walked from court.
Originally published as Music teacher Philip Allen Jones sentenced after court hears he viewed pornography involving children younger than three