Samuel Barlow was caught with a significant amount of child exploitation material

A teaching graduate became a “pariah” in his community after police uncovered his heinous secret – which included hundreds of serious child abuse images.

A teaching graduate and successful musician was caught with a “significant” amount of child abuse material on his phone, including hundreds of images in the most serious category.

Samuel David Barlow, 35, will learn his fate next month after police uncovered his shocking secret when searching his phone.

The court heard Barlow was arrested in 2018 in Port Lincoln on other offences which were later withdrawn.

He was then rearrested in March, last year after police analysed his phone and found the child abuse material.

“The total number of images that were located on the defendant’s phone were significant,” the police prosecutor told the Adelaide District Court on Tuesday.

“196 of the images that were obtained from the defendant’s electronic device were classified as Category 4 images and 16 were classified as Category 5 images, which are the most serious of categories.”

Samuel Barlow will be sentenced later this month for possessing child exploitation material. Photo: Facebook

Category 5 on the Oliver scale – which forms the basis on which child exploitation images and videos are graded – is where a child is subjected to sadism, torture, bestiality or humiliation.

The court heard over 1000 images were taken from Barlow’s phone as a sample.

“A very high number of that sample, being over 800 of those 1000 images … were images containing child exploitation material,” the police prosecutor said.

The police prosecutor told the court that while Barlow had no criminal history, he admitted to a psychologist that he had engaged in online conversations with an adolescent boy at the same time of the offending.

Barlow, of Venus Bay, had previously pleaded guilty to possessing child exploitation material.

Eugene McGee, for Barlow, told the court that Barlow had become a “pariah” in his regional community because of the offending.

“As a result of these most charges, his partner has discontinued the relationship and has not allowed him to have access to his daughter,” Mr McGee said.

“He tells me he’s been socially ostracised … everybody really has shunned him.”

The court heard Barlow had completed a Bachelor of Teaching at Charles Darwin University.

However, Barlow was excluded from using his teaching qualifications after he was charged with offences in 2012, which he was eventually acquitted of.

Mr McGee told the court Barlow – who is an accomplished guitarist – had then started up a business where he played at weddings, which was successful until Covid-19 struck.

The court heard Barlow had undertaken counselling to address the underlying problems that caused the offending.

“The psychologist is now confident that he does not represent any risk to the community,” Mr McGee said.

Mr McGee asked for Barlow to be given a suspended sentence, while the prosecution pressed for jail time, due to the seriousness of the crime.

Judge Simon Stretton adjourned the sentencing until next month.