Ex-SA Police officer, British and Australian Army Master Gunner, Gordon Alexander Broadfoot spared jail for child exploitation material

A decorated veteran who faced a 12-year sentence for his “abhorrent” downloads has fled court in disguise – and without a prison term – after yet another prosecution plea bargain.

A decorated British and Australian Army soldier who downloaded pages of child exploitation material while serving as an SA Police officer has been spared a prison term for his crime.

On Thursday, Gordon Alexander Broadfoot donned a disguise and ran from the Adelaide Magistrates Court – minutes after saying he accepted full responsibility for his offending.

Broadfoot, 55, of Hectorville, pleaded guilty to one count of having obtained access to child exploitation material in his home between November 11 and 30, 2024.

That charge carries a maximum 12-year prison term and is normally dealt with in the District Court.

Broadfoot’s lawyer, Stacey Carter, explained that Director of Public Prosecutions Martin Hinton KC had “decided it was appropriate” her client’s case be heard in the lower court.

She said that was because the material Broadfoot downloaded was “fictional stories”, of between four and 52 pages in length, of children engaged in sexual activity.

“It’s not photos of any actual children, it’s all fictional written stories that were not authored by him,” she said.

Ms Carter said Broadfoot’s life had been marked with trauma, beginning with his childhood in Scotland where he suffered “sectarian violence based on religion”.

She said he served a combined 33 years in the British and Australian Armies, undertaking tours in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq, achieving the rank of Master Gunner.

He had received many medals, she said, but also been exposed to “truly horrific” situations that had left him with complex post-traumatic stress.

Broadfoot, she said, became a police officer in 2015 but his mental health suffered – and alcoholism increased – when his best friend took his own life.

His “downward spiral”, she said, coincided with his offending, but stressed he continued to have the support of his wife and son and had resigned from SA Police.

“The sad reality for many SA Police officers is that, if they speak about having mental health issues, they are at risk of losing their jobs,” she said.

“It’s common that they do not disclose (and) that unfortunately leads to the situation we have here – good, upstanding members of the community finding themselves in crisis.

“Despite the profound shame, humiliation and embarrassment he feels, he has admitted responsibility and shown absolute remorse.”

Prosecutors urged the court to impose an immediate prison term, saying Broadfoot’s alcoholism and mental health issues were “not causative” of his offending.

In sentencing, the state’s chief magistrate, Judge Mary-Louise Hribal, said the material Broadfoot accessed was “deviant, disturbing and abhorrent”.

“It claimed to depict ‘consenting children’ – to be clear, Broadfoot, children can never consent to these acts … material such as this is dangerous and reprehensible,” she said.

However, she agreed his offending was toward the lower end of the scale of seriousness and suspended his six-month prison term on condition of an 18-month good behaviour bond.

An SA Police spokesman disagreed with Ms Carter’s submissions in court.

“SA Police comprehensively rejects the suggestion that any police officer is at risk of losing their job if they speak about having mental health issues,” he said.

“The production of child exploitation material involves the rape, sexual abuse and degradation of children.

“People who view this material are enablers of these horrific crimes against our community’s most vulnerable.”