Rubbish truck driver Paul David McKerrow’s sick birthday child porn spree revealed

NAMED: A 54-year-old Goodna man said he accessed child exploitation material on his birthday because of his ADHD and addictive personality disorder.

A 54-year-old truck driver has been convicted for accessing child exploitation material after a birthday spree.

Paul David McKerrow pleaded guilty this morning, July 28, to one count of using a carriage service to access child exploitation material.

The court heard McKerrow accessed the material on his 53rd birthday in January, 2021.

The police issued a search warrant on his house at Goodna in July and seized his phone.

A forensic analysis of the phone revealed he had accessed five incriminating photos – two of which were duplicates.

Crown Prosecutor Daniel Trigger said McKerrow had made admissions to police at the time and said “the accessing of it had progressed due to what he described as ADHD and addictive personality disorder”.

Mr Trigger said McKerrow had indicated he had accessed such material on multiple occasions; however, McKerrow was only charged for the one instance.

Defence lawyer Adrian Braithwaite said McKerrow had been somewhat isolated at the time, as he had suffered a work injury and was only working part-time.

Judge Alexander Horneman-Wren noted that the psychologist’s report indicated McKerrow had “distracted himself from [his] depression” by accessing (largely adult) pornography.

Mr Braithwaite said McKerrow had suffered significant trauma at a young age, and that his offending had been a “catalyst for him to delve inside his own mind and embark upon the path of rehabilitation.”

Judge Horneman-Wren accepted that McKerrow’s offending was on the lower end of seriousness, but emphasised that “every child depicted in such images is indeed a victim of child abuse”.

McKerrow was sentenced to nine months imprisonment, with immediate release on probation lasting 18 months – subject to a $500 good behaviour bond.