Shannon McCoole: Families SA predator wants to appeal “manifestly excessive” jail term

EXCLUSIVE: Predatory former Families SA worker Shannon McCoole will challenge his record 35-year sentence, claiming it’s too severe for the abhorrent abuse of children and running of a child pornography ring.

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PREDATORY former Families SA worker Shannon McCoole will challenge his record 35-year sentence, claiming it is too severe a punishment for the abhorrent abuse of children and the running of a global child pornography ring.

Shannon Grant McCoole, 33, has engaged the services of leading Adelaide barrister Stephen Ey to argue his pleas for leniency.

A mother of one of his victims told The Advertiser she was disgusted McCoole would appeal after submitting prior to sentence he had fully accepted responsibility for his crimes and understood he would be punished severely.

“He does not have any remorse, he only stopped doing what he was doing because he got caught,” she said.

“He was lucky to only get 35 years — he deserves to be locked up for life.”

McCoole was sentenced earlier this month after pleading guilty to a horrifying list of sex offences committed against young children in his care while working for Families SA between January 28, 2011, and June 11, 2014.

They were as young as 18 months old. One had autism. Another was disabled.

As he did so, McCoole rose through the ranks of an international child pornography website with more than 1000 members. The father of another victim said he felt 35 years was a decent sentence but it could easily have been more considering McCoole’s depravity.

“Somebody of that predatory nature — it is just in-built and they should not be able to walk the streets again,” he said.

Offender Shannon McCoole during his days as a carer.

“The way he preyed upon little boys and little girls (like) it did not matter was incomprehensible.”

Using his position within Families SA to gain access to vulnerable children, McCoole shared videos and photos of him abusing his victims with fellow paedophiles around the world.

McCoole will now argue his 35-year jail sentence with a 28-year non-parole period was manifestly excessive because it failed to take into account mitigating circumstances presented to District Court Judge Paul Rice prior to sentencing.

Ross Christoforou, had told the court that upon his release from jail, McCoole wanted to “counsel” teenagers who may be “confused” about their own sexuality.

He said McCoole took the Families SA job thinking that he could help children, but was “lonely” and “depressed” when he committed the crimes.

He said his client, who read an apology letter to his victims and their families, was extremely remorseful for the abuse, had completely cooperated with police upon his arrest and had pleaded guilty at the earliest possible stage.

In sentencing, Judge Rice said McCoole’s case exposed an evil beyond the scale of anything he had experienced in his entire time as a judge, crown prosecutor and defence counsel.

McCoole’s application to appeal will be heard by a single judge and if deemed arguable will be moved on to be heard by a single bench of three justices. Those justices, sitting as the Full Court of Criminal Appeal, would then decide whether to dismiss the appeal, decrease, or raise the sentence.

McCoole has elected to appear by videolink on his appeal application and then be present before the Full Court if successful.

McCoole is under 24-hour surveillance and has been moved to Yatala Labour Prison in Northfield. He is now one of 278 convicted paedophiles being held in SA’s prisons — the majority of those in protective custody for their own safety.

When McCoole was arrested in July 2014, Premier Jay Weatherill promptly ordered a Royal Commission into what he described as “unspeakable acts of evil committed against little children”.

McCoole’s application to appeal will be heard at a yet to be fixed date.