Former soldier Luke Michael Pickering sentenced to immediate jail for vile child abuse hoard

A northern suburbs ex-soldier whose vile online habits involved abuse of children – including babies – must serve jail time starting immediately, a judge has decreed.

Luke Michael Pickering trying to avoid cameras outside court. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

Caught red-handed with vile child abuse material, ex-soldier Luke Michael Pickering portrayed himself as a remorseful, co-operative victim of trauma.

He apologised, assured police his interests stopped at teenage girls and undertook therapy, blaming his service in Afghanistan and subsequent alcohol abuse for his crimes.

That portrayal was in stark contrast to Pickering’s online activities, in which he downloaded videos of infants being degraded and told fellow perverts “my genre is baby girls”.

On Friday, District Court Judge Joanne Tracey balanced the extremes of Pickering’s reality – and justice with rehabilitation – with a jail sentence that allowed room for mercy.

She ordered he serve the first 12 months of his two-year, nine-month sentence behind bars, and the rest under strict supervision and intensive treatment.

“Some of the material was particularly depraved, and your preferences extended to a much younger range that you admitted to police,” she said.

“You downloaded 940 files over a four-month period … while your personal circumstances evoke considerable sympathy, I do not consider immediate release would be appropriate.”

Pickering has repeatedly changed his appearance during the prosecution of his case. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

Pickering, 32, of Ingle Farm, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of accessing, possessing and transmitting child abuse material via the internet.

He was arrested by the elite Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (JACET) in 2021, hoarding and transmitting more than 900 photos and videos of child abuse.

Pickering asked for mercy, blaming the Australian Army for his “descent” into child abuse, saying his training “desensitised” him and left him “a broken man”.

Prison, his counsel claimed, would “lead him to shut down emotionally” and “crush his confidence”.

His psychologist, they said, felt Pickering’s crimes were “linked to his experience of PTSD” and having “self-soothed” by watching violent videos with fellow soldiers on deployment.

That combination, they argued, had “sent him on a course of self-destruction”.

On Friday, Judge Tracey said the psychologist’s opinion was “confusing” given Pickering had never undergone any sex offender treatment, only therapy for PTSD.

“I accept that you committed these offences against a background of mental illness and alcohol dependency,” she said.

“However, you acted with the knowledge of what you were doing and the knowledge of its gravity.

“You told police you felt excited (when viewing the material) and then afterwards ‘felt like crap’ … you told (people online) ‘my genre is baby girls’.

“I require that you serve 12 months in jail, starting today.”