Alexander Anh Nguyen Tran, caught importing vile child abuse material, wants to live 200m from Wilderness School and seeks suspended sentence
A KINDERGARTEN teacher caught smuggling Japanese child exploitation material into Australia has asked a court to let him continue living just 200m from one of SA’s top girls schools.
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A KINDERGARTEN teacher caught smuggling Japanese child exploitation material into Australia has asked a court to let him continue living just 200m from one of the state’s top girls schools.
Alexander Anh Nguyen Tran has told the District Court he poses no threat, and will not ”wander down”, to Wilderness School because he has conquered his illegal “addiction”.
He says he should be spared the maximum 10-year jail term, and allowed to serve a suspended sentence, because his offences arose from teenage rebellion.
On Wednesday Tim Dibden, for Tran, told the court his client turned to child exploitation material to escape his demanding family’s pressure to become a pharmacist.
“He perceived (his offending) as a form of naughtiness and rebellion against his perceived failure in the eyes of his parents — not criminality,” he said.
“Doctors have described it as a type of addiction akin to drug addiction, but he’s made an ongoing resolution to rehabilitate and be worthy of respect.”
“The school is 200m from where he lives ... a (sentencing) condition that he not contact Wilderness might be appropriate ... he doesn’t intend to wander down that end of the street.”
On Wednesday, a spokeswoman for Wilderness School said parents would be informed of the situation.
‘This is the first time that we have been made aware of this matter,” she said.
“We are notifying our school community.”
Just after 2pm, principal Jane Danvers sent an email to parents and guardians.
“We are not aware of any concerns for our girls but, as a precaution, we are maintaining contact with authorities including SA Police,” she wrote.
“The welfare of our girls is paramount so should any concerns whatsoever arise, you will be notified immediately.”
Tran, 32, of Medindie, has pleaded guilty to importing child exploitation material and falsifying information on an incoming passenger card.
He was arrested at Adelaide Airport in May last year, as he returned from Japan, after Australian Border Force officers found six hard drives in his luggage.
Officers found 2131 illicit files on the drives, 1258 of which were cartoons and 873 of which features real children as young as 3 or 4 years of age.
Of those, 158 files featured material considered, by global authorities, to be in the worst two categories of child exploitation.
On Wednesday, Mr Dibden said Tran was introduced to exploitation material as an “isolated geek” student in a “prestigious sporting high school”.
He said Tran had downloaded the majority of the material while working as a kindergarten teacher in Japan — against his parent’s wishes for his career.
“This is a man who has come from a good family that was entirely shocked when these offences were discovered — repulsed, even,” he said.
“There was anger, particularly from his father with whom there has been significant tension over the years in terms of Tran not cutting it in getting a pharmacy degree.”
Mr Dibden said Tran had been “humiliated” by the court process but retained the support of his family and partner and had independently sought professional help.
“The issue here is really a suspended sentence, which I’m urging the court to impose ... he’s an exceptional candidate for rehabilitation,” he said.
“There has been no suggestion, since his arrest, of him using the internet ... he has ceased viewing all pornographic material.”
Pantelia Marinakis, prosecuting, urged the court to consider “the depravity of the images” and impose an immediate prison term.
“His attempt to bring material into Australia that he had obtained and stored overseas shows an ongoing course of conduct,” she said.
Judge Liesl Chapman remanded Tran on continuing bail for sentencing next month.
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