Anthony Andrew Thompson pleads guilty in Mackay court to vile child abuse videos

A Mackay boilermaker caught with 18 horrific videos of child abuse – including little girls forced to engage in sex acts on their own and with others – has told a court it was an “experimental incident”.

A Mackay boilermaker found with vile videos of child abuse argued it was an “experimental incident”.

Police raided 34-year-old Anthony Andrew Thompson Mackay home in August 2019, discovering 17 files on his laptop and one on a USB containing child abuse videos.

Mackay District Court heard the horrific videos included little girls forced to engage in sex acts on their own and with others.

Thompson pleaded guilty in Mackay District Court on Monday to possessing child exploitation material.

Defence barrister Matthew Heelan said it was “a small number of files and it was somewhat of an experimental incident he was engaged in during a time of poor mental health”.

The court heard once Thompson, a New Zealand citizen, had initially accessed the files he had not opened them again and had “forgotten” about them until police had found them on his devices.

Judge Tony Moynihan said the maximum sentence for someone charged with possessing child exploitation material was 14 years imprisonment.

“This is not a victimless crime, your conduct drives the demand for the continuing abuse of vulnerable children,” Judge Moynihan said.

In sentencing, Judge Moynihan took into consideration Thompson’s New Zealand citizenship and the risk of deportation which would separate him from his family and work.

He took into account the “small” number of files and the early guilty plea.

He sentenced Thompson to 12 months imprisonment, suspended immediately with the operation of the order to continue for two years.

A conviction was recorded.