Stephen John Tidy pleads guilty to accessing child exploitation material for the second time

A suspended sentence for accessing child exploitation material has “failed to deter” a drug-using OH&S officer from committing a similar offence, a court has heard.

A suspended sentence for accessing child exploitation material has “failed to deter” a meth-using OH&S officer from of committing a similar offence, a court has heard.

Stephen John Tidy, 58, of Elizabeth South, appeared in the District Court of South Australia on Tuesday morning charged with one aggravated count of possessing child exploitation material on June 11 last year, to which he pleaded guilty at a previous hearing.

The court heard Tidy received a conviction, a suspended six-month sentence, a $610 fine and an 18-month good behaviour bond in April, 2015 in the Murray Bridge Magistrates Court for a basic charge of possessing child pornography.

For the prosecution on Tuesday, Martin Hinton said the suspended sentence “plainly failed to deter” the father of two, his meth use was not an excuse for his “pedophilic tendencies” and he should be imprisoned

Reserving a judgment until next week, Judge Ian Press said the accused “clearly does have a sexual interest in young children”.

The court heard officers did not discover images, possessed by the accused last June, during an earlier search.

“He’s chosen to keep them,” Mr Hinton said.

“He’s known exactly where it is, gone to it, got it out, manipulated it and watched it

Tidy’s lawyer Craig Caldicott said the accused was a recreational user of meth. Picture: File.

“You can infer from his explanation that at all times since the police last visited him, he knew he had the material.

“You can infer that he chose to keep it and not destroy it, despite what occurred in 2015.

“What he should have done was destroy it, immediately. But he chose instead to keep it. He has accessed it to manipulate the images for his own gratification.”

Mr Hinton said Tidy was “plainly … a recidivist” and the community needed to be protected.

“Not only has he offended again, but his offending on this occasion is aggravated by virtue of the ages of the young females featured,” he said.

However, for Tidy, Craig Caldicott said his client’s meth use was an explanation for “manipulating the images” last year.

He said Tidy, who is an OH&S officer at a cement company, and had previously worked at BHP, had not used meth since the offending and was “concentrating on work”.

However, he admitted his client had “succumbed to the lure of accessing child pornography”.

The court heard Tidy accessed the pornography while using meth. Picture: File.

“He’s going to be placed on the (sex offenders) register going forward,” he said.

“Ironically, he works as an occupational, health and safety officer.”

He also said Tidy’s health “hasn’t been particularly good”.

“He’s currently on antidepressants. He also suffers from high blood pressure,” he said.

“He will lose everything (if jailed), he will lose his job, lose his car.

“He would not be able to see his boys until they’re over the age of 18.”

The matter returns to court for sentencing next week.