Justin Robert Bassett avoids conviction for downloading and keeping Christchuch massacre video
A father who downloaded and kept footage of the Christchurch massacre out of “curiosity” for years has walked free from court.
Police & Courts
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A young Adelaide father who cannot explain why he downloaded the Christchurch massacre video, nor kept it on his computer for years, has been spared a conviction for his extremism crime.
Justin Robert Bassett faced a maximum $10,000 fine or two-year prison sentence following his arrest during statewide anti-extremism raids last year.
On Monday, however, the Adelaide Magistrates Court said his lack of prior offending and good character meant his career as an apprentice bricklayer should not be ruined by a conviction.
Magistrate Simon Smart fined him $1250 and said he accepted Bassett was unlikely to reoffend, even though he had offered no explanation for his actions.
“You have done a foolish thing, and this foolish thing is a criminal thing,” he said.
“You can understand how it would be a matter of great distress to the relatives of the persons killed that members of the public would have a copy of such material.
“You say that since the incident, you have reflected and become more mature.
“Clearly you succumbed to temptation, to view material in a foolish and ill-conceived decision.”
On Monday Bassett, 28, of Surrey Downs, pleaded guilty to one count of having possession of extremist material – namely a copy of the Christchurch massacre video.
He and Patrick Patmore, 32, of Salisbury East, were arrested in April when SA Police conducted an investigation into “ideologically motivated violent extremism”.
Following the raids, Thomas Sewell – leader of neo-Nazi extremist group The National Socialist Network – reportedly said the arrests “won’t slow us down”.
In court on Monday, prosecutors said Bassett downloaded the video two weeks after the murders and had last accessed it just days before his arrest.
However, they accepted Bassett’s assertion that he had accessed the file folder containing the video, not the rewatched the footage.
Jason Evitts, for Bassett, said his client had watched the video only once since downloading it.
He said Bassett was deeply ashamed and embarrassed by his actions.
He said his client was married with a 12-month-old son and written a letter of apology to the court.
Asked why his client has offended, Mr Evitts replied: “He cannot offer an explanation for that, he has no excuse for keeping it.”
“He accepts he did not have a reasonable excuse to possess the video, it was a matter of curiosity more than anything,” he said.
Mr Evitts asked Basset to be spared a conviction and, in sentencing, Mr Smart agreed.
“I have seen a letter from you, which expressed your regret for your offending,” he said.
“I accept you are otherwise a person of good character.”
He ordered the forfeiture of Bassett’s desktop computer including the hard drive containing the video to police
Bassett did not comment outside court.
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