David Seddon sentenced over child abuse image stash, fake ID documents
An Illawarra man who claims to be a filmmaker has been able to walk free from court on time served, after he was found with a catalogue of child abuse material and fake international ID documents.
Illawarra Star
Don't miss out on the headlines from Illawarra Star. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Woman killed in horrific Harbour Bridge crash identified
- ‘He is probably fortunate he didn’t find himself under a train’
A Coniston man has escaped further jail time after he was found with child abuse material and fake international travel documents, which he claimed was “research” for his film making.
David William Seddon faced Wollongong District Court for sentencing on Monday, where Judge Chris O’Brien slammed his claims a catalogue of child abuse images found on his computer was for research purposes.
“So it’s clear, I describe that (claim) in two words: absolute rubbish,” he said.
“Rather than being for research, the material, in my opinion, is for deviant sexual interest.”
The 69-year-old was sentenced to 18 months jail with a non-parole period of six months, meaning he was able to walk free from court on Monday having previously served 256 days-
or six months and two days in custody before being released to bail.
According to court documents, police first became aware of Seddon in May 2019, following a bizarre conversation with an employee at his local pub.
Seddon allegedly told the woman he “liked to have sex with younger boys” after having trouble finding a man his own age. When the woman appeared shocked, Seddon said: “consensual of course, all consensual”.
The woman later told police he didn’t want to hurt children or go to jail because he didn’t think it’d be a good place for a gay man.
When he left the pub, the employee told police the 69-year-old handed her a business card and CD, claiming he was a script and song writer. According to the documents, one of the tracks on the CD was titled “Don’t Tell Daddy”.
The employee later reported the conversation to police, who launched an investigation.
When Seddon returned from a trip to the Philippines in July of that year, police searched Seddon’s laptop where they found an “enormous” quantity of pornography and child abuse material.
Police later raided his home where they found international travel documents in false names, including a passport and driver’s licence with Seddon’s photo and fictitious names and details.
During the raids, police also found passport photos of Seddon in different disguises, books about disappearing and creating new identities, and computer search history which showed he’d contacted a computer company and asked questions about how to use the Dark Web.
He was subsequently arrested and charged with possessing child pornography, using a carriage service to access child abuse material and knowingly possessing false foreign travel documents, to which he pleaded guilty to in June.
In an interview with police, Seddon said the child abuse material and fake documents were research for his new script and that he donated proceeds from his work to children’s charities.
However, Judge O’Brien rejected those claims in court in Monday, stating it was “highly suspicious”.
“In respect to the passport matter, there’s no evidence that would have been used,” he said.
“(But) I reject the claims it was used as research for film making purposes.”
While Seddon is an older man with no criminal history, Judge O’Brien noted the possession of child abuse material would leave inevitable and lasting impacts on the child victims.
“(This type of offending) can rob children of their innocence, sexualise them before they have reached maturity,” he said.
In handing down his sentence he also noted that despite Seddon’s guilty plea, he showed “no other sign of contrition or remorse”.
As part of his sentence, Judge O’Brien also ordered Seddon enter a recognisance order of $1000 to be of good behaviour for three years and also accept supervision from Community Corrections.