Joshua Irving jailed for sexually assaulting 11-year-old boy in Port Macquarie
Port Macquarie man Joshua Mitchell Irving has been jailed for the aggravated sexual assault of an 11-year-old boy. He was also sentenced for the possession of child abuse material and uploading child pornography material online.
Mid-North Coast
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A Port Macquarie man has been jailed for the aggravated sexual abuse of an 11-year-old boy and offences relating to the possession of and transmission of child abuse material online.
Joshua Mitchell Irving, 22 of Port Macquarie, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years jail at Port Macquarie District Court on Monday by Judge Roy Ellis.
The 22-year-old sat motionless in court as Judge Ellis summarised the facts of the case, which began on February 23, 2019 when Irving was at his victim’s home in Port Macquarie.
The court heard how Irving had been drinking and playing video games inside the home, before luring the 11-year-old boy into the victim’s bedroom and perpetrating acts of sexual violence on the boy.
Judge Roy Ellis said the victim, who was known to the offender, cried out repeatedly for Irving to ‘get off’ but he continued to abuse the boy.
“The offender consumed a quantity of alcohol, and while others where outside the house, the offender was inside the house,” Judge Ellis said.
The court heard Irving performed a number graphic sexual acts on the boy, which The Mid-North Coast News has chosen not to elaborate on.
The facts stated that the abuse stopped only after the victim bit Irving and a mutual friend of the two entered the bedroom and intervened.
Following the abuse, the victim explained to the mutual friend what had occurred. He was then medically examined and sustained injuries consistent with aggravated sexual assault.
A DNA sample was taken from Irving. He was arrested and charged with having sexual intercourse with a child between 10 and 14 years of age. He was released on bail.
While on bail, detectives from the child abuse and sex crimes squad‘s Child Exploitation internet Unit (CEIU) began engaging with him online following a referral from the National Canadian Child Exploitation Coordination Centre (NCECC).
Irving uploaded child abuse material to a social media site. He began speaking with a 51-year-old man in order to participate in sexually-explicit acts with a nine-year-old boy.
He was arrested on July 19 last year, after police executed a search warrant at a home in Port Macquarie where they found more than 1000 images and videos containing child abuse material.
He was charged with using a carriage service to transmit/makea vailable/publish/distribute/advertise/ promote child porn on July 2, 2019.
In sentencing, Judge Ellis gave an aggregate sentence of four-and-a-half years for both the February 23 and July 2 2019 offences, with a non-parole period of two-and-a-half years.
Judge Ellis considered Irving’s own previous history as a victim of sexual abuse and a number of mitigating factors including his mental state and the fact he was a ward of the state from age 12 to 18.
“I note that for the first 12 years of his life, his childhood was unsafe, inconsistent, insecure, unstable and adult focused,” Judge Ellis said.
“I accept material that indicates he was sexually abused as a child once by an older person, and that the offender has number of mental health conditions.”
“Psychological reports also suggest his upbringing as dissocial and impoverished.”
He said the Department of Community Services had been a part of the offender’s family’s life since he was aged one.
“Alcohol, drug abuse, risk of sexual harm, neglect, inadequate supervision,” Judge Ellis said, all played a part in the offenders childhood.
With time already served, Irving will be eligible for parole in December 2021.