Husband and father of three receives 12 month suspended prison sentence for disgusting child abuse material

A Woodridge family man was caught with more than 700 child exploitation images when his home was raided by Queensland police.

A Woodridge father of three’s family home was raided by Queensland police and he was caught with more than 700 child exploitation images.

Forty-five year-old David William Jones appeared before the Beenleigh District Court and pleaded guilty to all charges of possessing child exploitation material, receiving a suspended 12 month prison sentence.

The court heard in September last year, police searched the defendant’s family home in Woodridge and seized numerous USB devices, SD cards and a laptop.

The police were initially met by Jones’ wife as Jones was not home at the time.

The court heard that when Jones did arrive home, he cooperated with police, handing over his mobile phone and after forensic examination by the officers, they found over 700 images depicting child sexual imagery.

A majority of the material was downloaded through a Russian image sharing website and Jones also had correspondence through email with people discussing child exploitation material.

Woodridge man David William Jones pleads guilty to possession of more than 700 child exploitation images

Jones’ defence told the court their client has worked at a major supermarket chain for 25 years where his employer regarded him highly despite being aware of the allegations.

The defence tendered three character references, all speaking to the defendant’s upstanding character and the court heard he had no prior criminal history.

Judge Craig Chowdhry said crimes of this nature were a serious problem in Australia and were often committed by people with no criminal history.

“I almost don’t go a week without sentencing a middle-aged man for this,” he said.

“It is alarming and the community is disgusted.

“You need to realise these are real children being affected and it is a pity you didn’t think about the impact on your family before you committed the offences.”

The court heard Jones suffered from anxiety and depression and was undergoing sexual treatment counselling.

He was given a suspended 12 month prison sentence.