Benjamin Hay told to deal with pornography addiction after producing child abuse material

An aspiring actor and model had avoided jail and been told to deal with his addiction after being found with thousands of child abuse images.

Benjamin David Paul Hay was sentenced in Bega Local Court for producing and possessing child abuse material. Picture: Facebook

An aspiring actor and model charged with possessing thousands of child abuse images has been ordered to deal with his addiction to pornography.

Benjamin David Paul Hay, a 38-year-old Bega disability pensioner, pleaded guilty last month to two counts of producing child abuse material and seven counts of possessing child abuse material.

Bega Local Court Magistrate Doug Dick sentenced Hay to a three-year community corrections order on December 15, with strict conditions including not accessing the internet to search for any form of pornography, and actively engaging in counselling for his addiction to pornography.

Court documents reveal a forensic examination of a sample of Hay’s electronic devices seized by police found thousands of child abuse images and videos, with the content of one hard drive described by investigators as being of an “extremely egregious nature”.

One hard drive contained 138,626 images and almost 6000 videos, with investigators saying the “majority” depicted child abuse material.

Investigators also found 65 images altered to reflect child abuse material containing the watermark “faked by bendemonator”, an online alias used by Hay.

The Microsoft-certified database administrator also released music online under the alias, and shared his aspirations of being an actor and a model on his Starnow profile, highlighting his similarity in appearance to Irish actor Cilian Murphy.

Supplied Editorial Bega Local Court. Picture: Google Maps

He lists Bert Newton, Don Lane and Cary Grant as idols, and notes he has “spent years perfecting the catwalk-style walk” needed for work as a runway model.

Court documents reveal Hay’s home was raided by the south coast child abuse squad on May 19, with a mobile phone, laptop and hard drives seized for forensic examination.

During the search, police found 25 images and six videos, with Hay telling police he had downloaded the content from the internet.

He was arrested and taken to Bega Police Station where he waived his right to have a support person present and declined to be interviewed.

Hay has been on bail since his arrest, with strict conditions including reporting to police daily, having no access to the internet, not being in the company of anyone under the age of 16 and no community volunteering.

Magistrate Dick ordered Hay to undergo three years of supervision by the Nowra Community Corrections District Office, and undertake psychological counselling and a psychiatric review.