Scott Rye: Former Browns Plains soccer ref jailed for possessing child porn

A former indoor soccer referee from Browns Plains caught with a disturbing child porn collection of more than 2000 files featuring kids as young as six years old has been sent to jail.

A former indoor soccer referee from Browns Plains caught with a disturbing child porn collection of more than 2000 files featuring kids as young as six years old has been sent to jail.

Scott Rye, 37, was led away in handcuffs in the District Court in Beenleigh on Thursday after pleading guilty to possessing child exploitation material.

Judge Geraldine Dann sentenced Rye, who has a history of similar crimes, to six months imprisonment and three years probation upon his release.

The court heard police executed a search warrant at the Rye’s family home in Browns Plains on November 20, 2018, after they received information about users exchanging child exploitation material on Facebook.

They found 2263 images and one video on his phone, which depicted mostly female children aged between six and 12 engaged in sexual acts.

The court heard Rye had a previous conviction for possessing child exploitation material after being caught with 3900 images in 2007 when he was 23.

A year later, he was convicted for unlawful stalking, indecently exposing himself to a child under 16 and entering a dwelling by a break-in at night.

Rye’s lawyers said he had been an avid volunteer at the Salvation Army in Browns Plains until recently.

He also refereed indoor soccer games at Ozsports Browns Plains about two years ago, but a spokeswoman for the club said he no longer has any association with them.

During sentencing, Judge Geraldine Dann said this type of offence was certainly not a victimless crime.

“This material that you access and look at is material that has involved the harm of real children and repeated circulation of child pornography depicting abuse continues the victimisation of the children in the images,” she said.

“So every child in every image that you’ve accessed or downloaded has been harmed in some way.”