Former government software engineer Songnan Bao jailed for 8000 child exploitation images, videos

An ex-government software engineer had a document a judge called a “depraved guide” as he was jailed for possessing 8000 horrific images and videos.

A former government software developer who downloaded thousands of child abuse files possessed a document a judge described as “depraved guide” to manipulate and abuse children, a court has heard.

Songnan Bao, 42, will spend up to three years in prison after Judge Carmen Matteo handed down the sentence in the District Court on Monday.

The father-of-two pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child exploitation material in May.

On Monday, the court heard Bao possessed 8338 child exploitation material files on a computer and hard drive, comprising 7494 images, 843 videos and one document.

It also heard he had described some of the material as “just peaceful”.

Songnan Bao will remain behind bars this Christmas.

Judge Matteo said the document, found on Bao’s personal computer, was titled “how to practice child love”.

“It is more apt to describe the document as a depraved guide for the sinister manipulation and sexual abuse of children,” she said.

“Whilst there is no suggestion that you in any way groomed or took action towards physically offending against any child, your possession of child exploitation material in this form is deeply troubling.”

The man did not work for the South Australian government.

Former government software developer Songnan Bao has been charged with possessing child abuse material.

Judge Matteo said more than a quarter of the child exploitation material possessed by Bao depicted children under the age of 13 years, with some videos showing girls as young as five.

“The children in the videos which I viewed as examples of the most severe in your collection were utterly dehumanised,” she said.

Bao, who was born in China, previously told police he accessed the child exploitation material because he was “just curious”, the court heard.

“You said you thought it was probably not a big deal as it was on your personal computer and in your personal time,” Judge Matteo said.

“You acknowledged to the police the material which you possessed, depicting for example girls under the age of 10 years, showed those children being abused. However when asked to describe the nature of that abuse, you described it as ‘not a rape’ and ‘just peaceful’ and apparently ‘children didn’t get hurt’.”

Bao, who previously described himself as a staunch Christian, was working as an IT engineer when he was arrested and charged in December last year.

Earlier, he spent around three years working for the Department of Human Services and then a local defence firm specialising in open source and artificial intelligence as a software engineer.

Taking into account Bao’s guilty plea and time already spent in custody, Judge Matteo sentenced Boa to three years with a non-parole period of one year, four months.