Lismore: Liam Michael Tubby jailed over ‘depraved’ child abuse material

A “depraved” former Telstra worker who told another he “should do some babysitting” before transmitting vile child abuse material will be eligible for parole in just eight months. Warning: Graphic.

Liam Michael Tubby outside Lismore District Court on Friday where he was sentenced for possessing child abuse material and bestiality material. Picture: The Northern Star.

A “depraved” former Telstra worker who told another he “should do some babysitting” before transmitting vile child abuse material will be eligible for parole in just eight months.

Liam Michael Tubby, 24, appeared before Judge Jonathan Priestley in Lismore District Court on Friday for judgment.

Tubby, with no prior criminal record, faced multiple charges related to the possession and transmission of child abuse material and bestiality content.

Described as a “difficult case”, the court heard Tubby transmitted 43 videos and three images of child abuse material to users on the encrypted messaging app Telegram.

Videos included anal penetration of a three-year-old by an adult male penis; and a group of four 10-year-olds performing oral and anal sex on each other.

Tubby was sentenced at Lismore Local Court on Friday. Picture: The Northern Star

Facts stated Tubby engaged in conversation with Telegram users after viewing the material and said “I bet you want to be the guy in the fourth video”, “should do some babysitting” and “I’d love to see you with a kid in person”.

The court heard Tubby had “depraved” sexualized conversations over a period of five months from May to October 2023 with other deleted Telegram account users about children as young as two and spoke of raping them in public toilets.

Tubby; s conversations on the encrypted messaging app Telegram were described by police as “depraved”. Picture: The Northern Star.

Mr Priestley said it was implausible for someone without paraphilic interests to act in such a depraved manner to please an unknown person.

Tubby’s defence argued possessing the 6802 videos from a Snapchat link was accidental and opportunistic and that it warranted a less serious assessment.

Tubby was using a variety of apps during the offending.

Judge Priestley rejected the “happenstance argument”, saying Tubby knowingly stored and accessed the material.

The court heard Tubby intentionally possessed 6818 videos of child abuse material on his iPhone, specifically, a file folder called “man boy f — k” on his Mega. NZ account, which had eight videos of the material that Tubby accessed on July 10, 2019.

Tubby also had 114 media files in another folder titled‘bestiality’.

An online storage site was used to house almost 7,000 child abuse material files.

“Some material had been created on that date and were still present when Tubby was arrested five years later,” Mr Priestley said.

The court heard international users accessed the files within the folder created by Tubby on two dates in 2023 and on one day in 2024.

Mr Priestley said Tubby was aware of the nature of the material when he received, retained, and accessed the files multiple times – and that he could not be considered blameless.

A psychological report from tendered to the court diagnosed Tubby with Autism Spectrum Disorder, noting challenges in social interactions, avoiding gatherings, and sensitivity to sensory inputs.

“The offender’s condition is characterised by abnormal fixed interests and ritualised patterns of behaviour,” Dr David Whittingham said.

He said autism-related vulnerabilities, such as rigid routines and abnormal interests, significantly influenced the offending behaviour.

Tubby was also diagnosed with pedophilic disorder despite his denial.

Tubby had conversations with others about “babysitting” young boys.

The report indicated Tubby’s paraphilic interests developed from online sexualized communication into child exploitation interests.

The court heard Tubby battles with depression and anxiety and has a history of social challenges, including difficulty with social cues and boundaries.

Although he testified being sexually assaulted in 2018, this was not attributed to his offending.

The Judge noted Tubby expressed regret for his actions but lacked full insight and adequate remorse.

Convicted on all counts, Tubby was sentenced to a total of three years in prison, commencing on September 2, and ending on September 1, 2028.

However, the execution of the sentence was partially suspended after serving eight months, contingent upon Tubby entering into a recognisance of $1.00 without security.

He must comply with conditions including good behaviour for two years and four months starting May 1, 2026, supervision by a probation officer, and restrictions on travel.

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