‘Addicted’ to child abuse images: Cairns dad in court for fifth time after downloading child exploitation material

Robert John Mitchell, 48, has previously been convicted four times across four states in the past 21 years for accessing and viewing child sexual abuse material.

48-year-old Robert John Mitchell has previously been sentenced four times over child exploitation material charges.

A Cairns dad has pleaded guilty to multiple charges of viewing child exploitation material in what will become the fifth time he has appeared in court for accessing images of children.

Robert John Mitchell, 48, pleaded guilty to two counts of using a carriage to access child abuse material, one count of possessing child exploitation material and 22 counts of breaching bail conditions in court on Thursday morning.

Mr Mitchell has previously been sentenced four times across four states in the past 21 years for accessing and viewing child sexual abuse material.

He was previously caught with child abuse images in Tasmania in 1999, then in Victoria in 2001 and New South Wales in 2007.

The last conviction came in August 2020, where the father of two pleaded guilty to two counts of using a carriage service to access child pornography material and one count each of possessing child exploitation material and using a carriage service to transmit child pornography in the Southport District Court after police raided his home and found more than 32,000 child sexual abuse pictures and videos.

Mr Mitchell had been placed on a good behaviour bond for two years with a number of conditions such as getting medical treatment, including for sexual arousal. His barrister had told the Southport court he looked at the child exploitation material “when stressed”.

In that previous matter at the Southport District Court, Judge Katherine McGinness sentenced him to three years prison which was immediately suspended.

Mitchell has already spent 381 days in pre-sentence custody.

During his August 2020 trial his defence counsel Debra Wardle told the court Mr Mitchell was introduced to child abuse material by a relative at age 11 and had developed an addiction to the images.

He was also placed on a good behaviour bond for two years with a number of conditions such as getting medical treatment, including for sexual arousal.

Mr Mitchell had since moved to Cairns.

He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced in the Cairns District Court on February 2, 2024.

Originally published as ‘Addicted’ to child abuse images: Cairns dad in court for fifth time after downloading child exploitation material