Whalan man Joshua Wright successfully appeals against sentence for child sex offences

A convicted child sex offender, busted with disturbing images of children on his phone, is set to be released from jail sooner than expected after successfully challenging part of his prison sentence.

Joshua Wright will now be eligible for parole four months earlier than expected.

A convicted child sex offender, caught with thousands of disturbing images of children on his phone, is set to be released from jail earlier than expected after having four months shaved off his sentence.

Joshua Wright was last month jailed for two years and two months after being busted with thousands of explicit images of vulnerable children, which police discovered on his phone after he tried to stall for time in the bathroom.

The unemployed 40-year-old, who pleaded guilty to charges of possessing child abuse material and failing to comply with his reporting obligations, was given a non-parole period of 18 months when he was sentenced in Mt Druitt Local Court.

He was eligible for release in March 2026 but may now walk free sooner, following a partially successful appeal against the sentence in Parramatta District Court on Tuesday.

Judge Sharon Harris upheld the total jail term but reduced the non-parole period to 14 months, enabling Wright to be released from custody as soon as November 3, 2025.

Police estimated “a large portion”of the 25,960 images found on Joshua Wright’s phone in August 2023 contained child abuse material or photos of children from the internet. Picture: iStock

This case marks the second time Wright has been convicted of child sex offences.

His first convictions, in April 2011, related to two counts of producing, disseminating or possessing child pornography.

The most recent crimes came to light in August 2023, when police arrested him at his home during an inspection for child sex offenders.

Officers seized his phone and made the shocking discovery of 25,960 images, which Wright had saved between March 2022 and July 2023.

Police facts tendered to the Local Court stated: “Police estimate that a large portion of the 25,960 are either child abuse material, images of children from the internet, screenshots and downloads of children in swimwear, screenshots and downloads of random families and their children.’’

The former truck driver was also on a conditional release order when he reoffended with the explicit images, which the magistrate said aggravated his offending.

Wright also admitted creating three email addresses without notifying police, which he was required to do under his child protection register obligations.