Jacob Alexander Stacey handed four-month suspended jail term

A hospital security guard will lose his job and have a jail term hanging over his head after he refused to give police his phone passcode.

Mackay Court House

A hospital security guard will lose his job and have a jail term hanging over his head for nine months after he refused to give police his phone passcode, citing privacy because it held “intimate photos”.

Jacob Alexander Stacey denied a charge of contravening a police order about information necessary to access information stored electronically, but he was found guilty after a one day trial in Mackay Magistrates Court in March 2025.

The offence has a maximum penalty of five years jail.

The 35 year old father of one had argued his reason for not providing the access code was because he was “protecting his privacy and having intimate photos on his phone”.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Linden Pollard pushed for between three to six months jail, wholly suspended for 12 months, and said the sentence should be at the upper range of six months.

Barrister Joshua Morris, instructed by McKay’s Solicitors for Stacey, submitted for three months wholly suspended for nine months, stating his client would receive extra punishment.

Jacob Alexander Stacey was found guilty after a one day trial in Mackay Magistrates Court in March 2025.

The court heard he would lose his eligibility to hold a licence because a conviction was automatically recorded for any jail term imposed.

Mr Morris said another distinguishing feature was this charge was not made in relation to other offences, and his client had no like offending on his criminal history which was dated.

The court heard Stacey also cared for his mother as she was undergoing medical treatment.

Magistrate Lance Rundle found Stacey had always had excellent employment and had since been working as a security guard at a Queensland Health hospital.

“That position involves you to place yourself in harms way in the community each time you turn up to work,” Mr Rundell said.

It was accepted he would lose his job as a result of the conviction.

Mr Rundle said the community needed to comply with police and court orders and there needed to be serious consequences for those who did not, as well a deterrence for others against committing the same offence.

Stacey was jailed for four months, wholly suspended for nine months and a conviction was recorded.