Anthony Peebles pleads guilty to sexual assault, producing child abuse material

A Bannockburn man who pleaded guilty to shocking child abuse charges may not spend a day behind bars after the Crown conceded he met the criteria for “exceptional circumstances”.

Anthony Peebles in November 2022.

A Bannockburn man, who had more than 3000 child sexual abuse files in his possession and filmed himself touching a seven-year-old girl, is unlikely to be jailed in what was described in court as a “tattslotto win”.

Anthony Glen Peebles, 20, appeared in the Melbourne County Court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to charges including sexual assault by touch of a child under the age of 16 and producing, transmitting and possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

However, Peebles is unlikely to face any time behind bars after the prosecution conceded he met the criteria for “exceptional circumstances” and a recognisance release order (RRO) was on the table.

Judge Gregory Lyon likened the concessions to a “Tatslotto win” and told Peebles he was “dead lucky”.

“I came in here thinking that I was going to send you to jail,” Judge Lyon said.

The court heard Peebles’ home was raided by police in early 2023, after he filmed himself touching a seven-year-old girl on three occasions.

In the videos, which ranged from between four and 22 seconds, the victim was clothed, however, Peebles at various times exposed parts of her body or “smacked her buttocks”.

In one video, Peebles could be heard asking: “are you being naughty?”, in another he “pinned her down”.

Peebles sent several videos to an American man, known as Evan, the court heard.

Conversations between Peebles and Evan read aloud in court are too graphic for publication.

The court heard Peebles told police Evan had been blackmailing him into supplying CSAM by threatening to send nude pictures of Peebles to family members.

Peebles told police he “didn’t hurt” his victim and had not “gone to any other levels”.

During their search of Peebles home, police identified 3096 files – 2432 images and 664 videos containing CSAM across two phones and a hard-drive.

The material featured both male and female children, with ages ranging from infants to 15-years-old.

The Geelong Advertiser has chosen not to publish descriptions of the content.

Peebles lawyer, barrister Lachlan Cameron, told the court Peebles moral culpability was limited by a variety of factors, including a diagnosis of austism spectrum disorder (ASD).

The court heard Peebles had a difficult upbringing, under a domineering, homophobic father.

Mr Peebles “felt his only resort” amid his “internal torment” when he was coming to terms with his homosexuality was the internet, the court heard.

“Ultimately that has seen him put himself in a situation where he’s engaged with others who are interested in this type of material,” Mr Cameron said.

The court heard Peebles had begun seeking out the material when he was about 14 years old because he “wanted to see boys his own age”.

Mr Cameron told the court a sentence of “something less than imprisonment” was open to the court, although he noted it would be an “unusual outcome in this type of offending”.

In support of this submission, Mr Cameron told the court Peebles was remorseful, had no priors, had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and had excellent prosects for rehabilitation.

He told the court that Peebles had been receptive to treatment and experts had found Peebles “does not meet the criteria for pedophilic disorder”.

Prosecutor, barrister Jessica Mackay, told the court the Crown’s concession was specifically in the context of Peebles’ autism diagnosis.

The court heard Evan had been arrested in the US, however it was unclear whether Peebles was a victim of his.

Given the chat logs submitted as evidence only cover “one or two days”, Ms Mackay said the Crown cannot “categorically disprove” that Peebles was under duress.

Judge Lyon warned Peebles that if it was discovered he had “looked at anything more sinister than the footy scores” while on an RRO he would be jailed.

“Some people in life win Tatslotto, some people find someone they love and they get to marry and live a happy life, the rest of us bumble through the best we can,” he told Peebles.

“You have had your Tatslotto win … usually people don’t win Tatslotto twice.”

Peebles will be sentenced at a later date.

Originally published as Anthony Peebles pleads guilty to sexual assault, producing child abuse material