Nathan Tomlinson: cameraman on child sex charges claims he is victim

A former hot-shot Hollywood cameraman has denied having a lasting impact on two teenage girls he had a sexual relationship with, instead boldly claiming they were to blame for lying about their age.

Nathan Tomlinson was nominated for an Emmy for his work in 2016. He now faces a stint in prison after he was found guilty of child sex offences. Picture: Supplied

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A former Emmy-nominated Hollywood cameraman has claimed he is the victim of the system and blames two young girls for lying about their age during his sentencing hearing on a raft of child sexual abuse offences.

The Downing Centre District Court heard Nathan Tomlinson had a “drastic fall from grace” when he was arrested in 2016, having enjoyed a career which began as a television news cameraman but saw him make the jump to tinsel town and amass a number of awards.

However, after being convicted of 22 offences at trial last year, the father-of-two sought to shift the blame on the 14 and 15 year old girls he engaged in sexual activity with.

Police had located sexualised pictures of the girls on an encrypted hard drive when he was arrested, but Tomlinson denied having impacted their lives in a negative way.

Nathan Tomlinson here with his Cineflex high definition camera.

“What lasting effect? I haven’t heard anything,” Tomlinson, of Mascot, said under cross examination.

“If they had told the truth (about their ages) if they hadn’t lied then no one would be here.

“The only reason (Tomlinson’s partner) has been put through this is because they lied … I’m not to blame the system is completely the reason for her distress.”

Tomlinson had engaged in relationships with the young girls after grooming them over Facebook and taking them on trips, as well as arranging meetings in hotels.

Maintaining his innocence, he reiterated that he was “a victim of the system”.

Judge Penelope Wass noted in 39 pages worth of handwritten letters to the court she sensed no remorse and that Tomlinson had only expressed “a blame of the police, of your trial and the system”.

“There is a very long history of a preference for sexual partners who are of that age,” Judge Wass said.

The court heard Tomlinson had been diagnosed with PTSD after working as a cameraman for ABC Hobart and WIN News in the early 2000s.

Tomlinson at work inside a helicopter.

His storied career as a high-flying camera operator, and one of the most sought after in his field, was detailed in length to the court.

Moving into aerial cinematography, it was his work on a documentary about the Great Barrier Reef that earned him an Emmy nomination in 2016 – the same year he was arrested and charged.

However, Tomlinson said when news of his arrest broke his career was “annihilated” and members of his family including his children had cut off ties with him.

Judge Wass will hand down her sentence at a later date. 

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