Christopher Robert Chad convicted of possessing, distributing child exploitation material
Despite fantasising about raping young boys, sharing and possessing child abuse videos, a Qld man will avoid prison.
A truck driver who shared vile videos of children, and had even worse abuse content on his personal phone has been spared jail time.
Christopher Robert Chad was 34 when police raided his phone and Mackay region home in November 2023 following a tip off.
Chad told officers they would find something in the encrypted message app Telegram, and seven videos were later discovered, along with drug materials and 13 cannabis plants.
The Mackay District Court heard the most heinous material featured adult men and male toddlers.
Chad admitted to sending a video of two pre-pubescent boys masturbating to two separate people on Telegram, telling one of them they should rape an eight year old boy together.
He denied having a sexual attraction to children, said he was bisexual and his gratification came from gratifying the other people.
Judge William Everson said that explanation was “inconsistent”.
“It’s very self-serving and entirely unconvincing.
“He said he wanted to rape an eight-year-old kid. That’s pretty disturbing stuff.”
Crown prosecutor Grace Ollason pushed for a sentence of 18 months imprisonment, with at least three months served behind bars.
Ms Ollesan noted the seriousness of the material involving toddlers, and Chad’s sexual interest in sharing the material with others.
Barrister Rachel Hew, representing Chad, claimed there were five reasons why ‘exceptional circumstances’ meant Chad shouldn’t face jail time.
They were his early pleas, co-operation with police, the fact he sent the same video to both people, the low-volume of material found on his phone, and that Chad had made some attempts at rehabilitation.
While some material featured toddlers, Hew said there was no bestiality or elements of sadism.
Judge Everson accepted Chad had obtained a mental health care plan one day before he was due to attend court.
“That’s worth about nothing,” he said.
After being charged, Chad moved to NSW to get away from his mother and found a job as a truck driver, earning $127,000 a year.
A friend wrote him a letter of support which pointed to Chad’s volunteer work at the Wandandian Macropod Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre.
When sentencing Chad, Judge Everson said he clearly had a traumatic background.
“Fortunately you were placed in the care of your grandmother aged 11,” he said.
“She gave you the love and support you needed.”
And while Chad’s sexual desires expressed over Telegram to other people were “sickening and horrific”, Judge Everson accepted there were exceptional circumstances in the case.
He was sentenced to 12 months in prison for distributing and possessing child pornography, and convicted but not further punished for producing drugs and being found with drug utensils.
Chad’s sentence was immediately suspended for a period of 12 months, allowing him to walk out of court.
