David John Kerr faces Toowoomba District Court over child exploitation material offences

The 39-year-old father of two, busted with hundreds of images of child exploitation material by Australian Federal Police, claimed he accessed the material to protect his own children.

A Toowoomba father of two caught with hundreds of child exploitation images on his phone tried to explain it away by saying he was protecting his own children.

David John Kerr, 39, told police he was not interested in child sex but had been accessing the exploitation material simply to flush out those who did in an effort to protect his own children.

“That is not accepted by the Crown,” prosecutor Sarah Farnden KC told Toowoomba District Court.

Ms Farnden said Australian Federal Police monitoring the viewing of child exploitation material online were led to Kerr.

An inspection of Kerr’s mobile phone found 402 images of child exploitation material and 18 videos of similar material.

Police also found records of a number of MeWe chats in which Kerr had discussed and transported images of underage children engaged in sexual activity and by those interactions it was submitted by the Crown that Kerr had a sexual interest in children, Ms Farnden said.

Kerr pleaded guilty to 16 offences of using a carriage service to access, solicit, control and distribute to himself child exploitation material.

His barrister Scott Lynch told the court Kerr had since been receiving psychological counselling by his own volition and had attended 20 such sessions and intended to continue to receive counselling.

Kerr was employed and his employer had provided a letter of support to the court, Mr Lynch said.

The court was told Kerr no longer had contact with his children or his children’s mother but was caring for his ageing mother.

Mr Lynch conceded a term of imprisonment was within range in the circumstances but asked that his client only serve six months in custody.

Judge Alexander Horneman-Wren SC said the sentencing of Kerr was complicated and adjourned the sentence hearing to February 10 and remanded Kerr in custody.

Originally published as David John Kerr faces Toowoomba District Court over child exploitation material offences