Father of three David Robert Hutchinson turned kids’ toys into sex dolls, downloaded child abuse material

A father of three turned his children’s toys into sex dolls and downloaded abuse material because he was “bored”, a court has heard.

An Adelaide father of three who spent 15 years “isolated, bored and lonely” turned his children’s toys into sex dolls and downloaded child abuse material because he considered the children involved “like characters on TV” a court has heard.

Appearing via video link from custody to the South Australian District Court on Wednesday, David Robert Hutchinson, 46, sat silently as Judge Heath Barklay heard he had deliberately searched for aggravated child abuse material.

Hutchinson pleaded guilty to aggravated possessing child exploitation material and producing child exploitation material after his arrest last year.

Chris Pouras, for Hutchinson, said his client began downloading adult pornography 15 years after his relationship breakdown with his partner and children, but as time went on, his searches turned more “depraved”.

“He accepts that he downloaded the material on his own accord from the beginning,” Mr Pouras said.

“Mr Hutchinson downloaded the material after a period of time where he had become lonely, isolated and bored.

“He had been living alone for the last 15-16 years following the breakdown of his relationship with a former partner, with which he had three children.

“He lost contact with his children which impacted on his mental health and wellbeing, leading him to become increasingly withdrawn and isolated.”

Mr Pouras said that over the following 15 years, Hutchinson kept “almost entirely to himself” but in the “loneliness and boredom of his routine, commenced downloading adult pornography initially”.

“As time passed, he began to expand his online searches and began to look at pornography depicting persons underage.

“As he continued to view this type of material, the material he downloaded became more depraved in nature, eventually progressing to the point where it was of an aggravated nature.

“Mr Hutchinson instructs that he viewed the material as fantasy and not real life. He interpreted the material as fantasy and as made up stories with made up characters, like watching TV.

Hutchinson admitted to downloading child abuse material online.

“He did not consider the persons in the material to be real people – he considered them fictitious characters.

“He’s indicated to me that he did derive sexual satisfaction from that, and that is why he kept downloading it.”

The court heard Hutchinson then turned to modifying his children’s toys that he still had in his home.

“His curiosity progressed to the point where he was watching material where persons engaged in conduct with dolls. He succumbed to his curiosity, he was aware he was in possession of dolls himself and those were from when his own children had resided with him all those years earlier,” Mr Pouras said.

“He retrieved one of the dolls and created a sex toy out of it, and imitated what he had viewed.”

Mr Pouras said that the activity could be interpreted as a “precursor to contact offending”, but asked Judge Barklay to consider it “simply a sex toy, like any other that can be purchased but clearly of a very different nature”.

“He made two videos which were tendered as evidence. They were isolated in nature, he did not upload them and they were kept solely on his phone for his own personal use.

“My instructions are that Mr Hutchinson viewed it simply as something he did in his own words, stupidly. He isn’t able to tell me with any definitive clarity the reasons for engaging with the doll.”

Judge Barklay adjourned the matter for continuing sentencing submissions next week.