Rodney Eric Blanchard in court for possessing child exploitation material

A Central Queensland man caught with child exploitation material for a second time, claims his methamphetamine use triggered him to access it - an excuse he has used in the past.

Rodney Eric Blanchard, 30, was sentenced in Rockhampton District Court on August 31 for possessing child exploitation material.

A Gladstone man caught with child exploitation material for a second time, has again claimed using methamphetamine triggered him to access it.

Rodney Eric Blanchard, 30, pleaded guilty in Rockhampton District Court on August 31 to one count of possessing child exploitation material.

Crown prosecutor Ryan Godfrey said police were notified of suspected child exploitation material being shared by the messaging mobile app Kik.

Mr Godfrey said police searched Blanchard’s home in Theodore on September 3, 2022 and found his mobile phone, which contained four images of child exploitation material.

The court heard one of the images depicted an adult engaged in sex with a girl aged between 10 and 12 years old.

Mr Godfrey said although there was not a high quantity of material, they were “serious images of child abuse”.

“The material is at the higher end,” he said.

He said Blanchard told police using methamphetamine was a trigger for him accessing child exploitation material.

“When he was asked how he felt about that material while not using meth, he said, ‘I hate myself for it’,” he said.

Blanchard was previously sentenced to 18 months prison, suspended for three years, in Gladstone District Court in 2019 for possessing child exploitation material, using the internet to procure children under 16, possessing utensils or pipes for use and possessing dangerous drugs.

Blanchard had three mobile phones and an SD storage card filled with 404 child pornography images and 21 videos, with the majority of the content falling in the higher categories in severity of exploitation material, the Gladstone court was told.

Mr Godfrey said it was noted during that sentence that meth appeared to be a trigger for Blanchard.

“The defendant clearly knows that what he does is wrong and he blames meth use for being a trigger but continues to use it,” he said.

Barrister Maree Willey said her client, who lived in Gladstone and was unemployed, started using meth at 21 years old.

Ms Willey said her client stopped using the drug about five years later, but relapsed in the lead up to the offending before the court and would use meth on weekends.

Judge Jeff Clarke sentenced Blanchard to two months prison.

Blanchard was also ordered to two years probation with a criminal conviction recorded.