John Robert Barratt gets good behaviour bond for downloading 560 inappropriate pics of children

A Christian man from Adelaide’s south has avoided jail for downloading child sex exploitation material after he turned himself in, likening his porn addiction to drugs.

A “devout Baptist” from Adelaide’s south must complete 300 hours of community service for downloading 560 inappropriate pictures of children.

In the District Court of South Australia last week, Mount Compass resident John Robert Barratt, 53, was given a three-year good behaviour bond for two counts of obtaining access to child pornography.

He pleaded guilty in the Port Lincoln Magistrates Court in November last year.

He accessed the material between January 1, 2010 and September 3 last year at Kimba and other locations in South Australia.

However, Judge Simon Stretton said the case was a “highly unusual matter with a number of unique factors”, including that he confessed his offending to a local pastor.

He also stressed the father of two, who was born and raised in Launceston, had accessed pictures which did not depict sexual activity or abuse of children.

“Almost all of the 560 images analysed involved category one material,” Judge Stretton said.

“A significant proportion of those pictures were not themselves created for the purposes of exploitation.

“Your conduct did not support any part of the industry that abuses children.”

Earlier, Judge Stretton said Barratt’s fondness for pornography was “akin to a drug addiction”.

He said Barratt was exposed to pornography from a young age due to his late father’s “heavy” use, leaving Barratt to develop a “pedophilic disorder”.

“(It required) an increased level of exposure to maintain the same level of interest,” Judge Stretton said.

However, the court heard Barratt was “extremely ashamed and remorseful” for his actions, proactively contacting police and providing a three page declaration last year.

“You knew it was wrong, that you should take responsibility for it,” he said.

“You told police that you had a pornography addiction and a problem with child exploitation material.”

He said Barratt had led a “blameless life, almost entirely in the service of the church and others”.

Judge Stretton was confident he would “kick on” with the good work he had started with addressing the root causes of his offending.

“This offending would never have been detected had you not voluntarily come forward to disclose it and address your behaviour,” he said.

“You have since that time been dedicated to addressing the psychological basis for your interest in children that you knew was wrong.

“You have voluntarily ceased use of the internet.”

Barratt received a conviction and he must complete the community service over the next 18 months.

EARLIER: A “devout Baptist” accused of downloading hundreds of inappropriate images of children has been volunteering at an op shop since he confessed his offending to a pastor, a court has heard.

John Barratt, 53, of Mount Compass, appeared in the District Court of South Australia earlier this month charged with two counts of obtaining access to child pornography.

Barratt pleaded guilty in the Port Lincoln Magistrates Court in November last year for accessing the material between January 1, 2010 and September 3 last year at Kimba and other locations in South Australia.

Barratt, described as a “devout Baptist”, downloaded sexualised pictures of children. Picture: Max Fleet.

However, none of the 541 category one images involved the sexual abuse of children, Judge Simon Stretton told the court.

He said the accused had resisted a “downward spiral” into more illegal material and his case was different to the norm.

“It’s unique for someone to simply come forward as a result of their conscience,” Judge Stretton said.

In a speech to the court on Friday, Barratt apologised for the pain he had caused after confessing to a Port Lincoln pastor before going to the police.

“I just want to apologise unreservedly today for what I’ve done,” Barratt said from a written speech.

“I’m deeply sorry and remorseful, I’m ashamed of my actions.

“I know that I’ve affected many people through my actions and I’m doing everything in my power to seek help and to get well.”

He thanked two detectives for leading him through the confessional and “healing process”.

“I find myself strangely grateful to you,” he said.

The court heard, over a “long period of time”, during periods of stress and pressure Barratt would access online images, including children “clothed but in provocative poses”, and from nudist colonies where “children might be naked”, his lawyer Elizabeth Mansfield submitted.

She said the married man of 30 years went through a cycle of downloading material onto a USB, then experiencing “self-loathing” before destroying the device.

She said his upbringing was “relatively unremarkable” but his late father had a pornography addiction which impacted him as a child.

Barratt worked as a musician and had been involved at his church as a “devout Baptist” for much of his life.

“He has removed any temptation regarding pornography from the house,” she said.

She said since Barratt’s confession he had volunteered at a local op shop twice a week, sorting through stock, but did not have any contact with customers.

Judge Stretton accepted his shame and genuine remorse and had sympathy for his exposure to pornography as a child

“It’s very disturbing what’s happened to Mr Barratt at an early age,” he said.

“None of it is his fault, it’s been done to him.

“Your client has done surprisingly well to live the otherwise blameless life he’s done in light of this.”

However, for the prosecution, Stephanie Moore said some of the images on his laptop were of the children under the age of 14, and Barratt had admitted to police some were “as young as eight”.

She said the pictures were of children in poses which were “perhaps not natural to a child” and the accused admitted some of the children had their legs open.

“These images are with children posing suggestively in a sexual way … there’s an emphasis on the genital area,” Ms Moore said, who suggested a suspended sentence would be appropriate.

When asked by Judge Stretton how many of the images were “quite suggestive”, Ms Moore said there was “a mix”.

“I couldn’t say, there’s about 600 images,” she said.

Barratt will next appear in court later this month.