David John Kerr sentenced in Toowoomba District Court for multiple child abuse offences

A court was told the 39-year-old father told police following his arrest he accessed hundreds of items of child exploitation material in order to protect his own children. The Crown did not accept that.

A Toowoomba father of two, found with more than 400 child exploitation material images and 18 like videos, has been jailed.

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

Commonwealth prosecutor Sarah Farnden KC told Toowoomba District Court the Crown did not accept that explanation.

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 on February 1 pleaded guilty to 16 offences of using a carriage service to access, solicit, control and distribute to himself child exploitation material.

Judge Alexander Horneman-Wren SC noted Kerr had been a member of 96 chat groups, some suggesting child abuse material.

“Much of the content (of chats) is quite horrible,” he said.

The age of the children shown was estimated to be between six and 13 and that one of the videos showed an adult male engaged in sexual intercourse with a six-year-old girl, Judge Horneman-Wren said.

The court was told Kerr had been married with two children.

At the time of the offending, Kerr was subject to a three-month suspended jail term for non-related offences, the court heard.

Kerr’s 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 had spent nine days in custody since pleading guilty to the matters on February 1.

Judge Horneman-Wren activated the three-month suspended sentence in full and sentenced Kerr to two years in jail, the term to commence from March 1 after he had served a month of the suspended jail term, but to be released after six months upon entering into a recognisance of $2000 to be of good behaviour for two years.

Originally published as David John Kerr sentenced in Toowoomba District Court for multiple child abuse offences