Gerard Mark Sedgman pleads guilty to accessing child abuse material

A Qld man caught with thousands of child abuse images and videos had only been out of jail for 2.5 months when he was back online accessing the vile material.

Now 48, Gerard Mark Sedgman pleaded guilty to using a carriage service to access child exploitation material between May 26 and 28, 2023.

A Mackay man caught with thousands of child abuse images and videos had only been out of jail for 2.5 months when he was back online accessing the vile material.

Gerard Mark Sedgman admitted to police he was sexually excited by child abuse material before he was jailed, making him a reportable offender who must abide by strict conditions.

Mackay District Court heard on May 28, 2023 officers were undertaking a compliance check at Sedgman’s home and while looking on his laptop saw it had been used to access child exploitation material.

An analysis revealed he had accessed nine images over two days.

Sedgman, who was 46 at the time, was taken back into custody and his parole was cancelled.

The court heard he had previously been busted with 7500 child abuse images, 77 video and was in the process of downloading 87 more videos using peer to peer software.

He admitted to police “he was sexually excited by the content and used it for sexual gratification”.

Now 48, Gerard Mark Sedgman pleaded guilty to using a carriage service to access child exploitation material between May 26 and 28, 2023.

 
He was jailed for 18 months with parole eligibility after five months.

The court heard the most recent offending occurred two and a half months after he had been released from custody.

Now 48, Sedgman pleaded guilty to using a carriage service to access child exploitation material between May 26 and 28, 2023 and had spent 471 days in custody.

Judge Suzanne Sheridan said a forensic psychiatrist report suggested Sedgeman was “desperately in need of treatment” which had “played into his reoffending”.

The court heard no treatment was provided while in custody after his first lot of offending.

“What does society think is going to happen where people need treatment, they don’t get treatment and then we release them?” Judge Sheridan said.

“Because we see time and time again where people are in need of treatment, they don’t get it, and then we release them into society and we’re surprised then they reoffend.”

The court heard a psychological report described Sedgman as having “a pedophilic sexual orientation”.

The court also heard Sedgman was drawn to child abuse material “and it resonated with him” because of his own abuse suffered as a child.

Judge Sheridan accepted Sedgman’s own upbringing was “marred by domestic violence and sexual abuse from a young age and the filming of you engaged in sexual activities with other boys”.

She accepted the forensic psychologist considered Sedgman’s “risk calculations predict a rather favourable prognosis … with treatment”.

Sedgman was jailed for four years with immediate parole eligibility after already serving 471 days in custody.