Lismore: Benjamin Keith Gully avoids jail on access and transferring child abuse material
A Northern Rivers artist who told a pedophile after watching child abuse material it was “another example of why boys are made for this” has walked free on a suspended jail sentence. Warning: Graphic.
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A Northern Rivers artist who told a pedophile after watching child abuse material it was “another example of why boys are made for this” has walked free on a suspended jail sentence.
Lismore man Benjamin Keith Gully, 45, appeared before Judge Jonathan Priestley in Lismore District Court for sentence on Monday.
Gully, who shared child abuse material with a Queensland pedophile and spoke of running a child sex ring with a rotating roster, pleaded guilty to using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material and using a carriage service to access the material.
He also pleaded guilty to four counts of possessing a prohibited drug.
For 13 years, Gully had been discussing “age play” sexual fantasies online with a Queensland pedophile, the court heard.
The online chats escalated into themed “scout and scout master” and “daddy/son” fantasies where Gully would “play” an adult and the pedophile would roleplay as a child.
Gully denied he was sexually gratified at the conversations yet during cross examination on Monday he admitted to being sexually aroused by them.
During a period between September 30, 2023 and November 13, 2023, Gully eagerly accepted videos sent to him by the pedophile.
He replied: “F--king spectacular. That’s so f--king hot and actually beautiful … he looked so content … how awesome taking care of a son like that.”
Gully then said: “ … it makes sense a seriously filthy father and dad taking care of his little boy … shaped into the perfect little f — k toy” ... boys were made for this.”
Gully also told the man: “I wanna get a group going ... where no boy hole remains empty … Where daddies can show off their sons.”
The court heard Gully accessed 13 of 22 child abuse material videos sent to him on two occasions.
“They are real videos of children being hideously abused,” the Judge said.
Defence solicitor Phillip Crick claimed Gully did not look at the videos before the conversations with the pedophile.
He said conversations made in a bedroom were not an offence but Mr Priestley said once they happen online there’s a likelihood it could turn into something real that would hurt children.
The court heard Gully was estranged from his mother and had a drug addict father.
Mr Crick said Gully’s history was connected to his PTSD, anxiety, and low self-esteem, which contributed to his offending.
Crown prosecutor John Song said the videos contained a high level of sexual depravity that Gully conceded he had a sexual interest in.
Mr Song said Gully intimating with the pedophile since 2010 was not an “isolated incident” and there was a risk the online “stories” have more potential to spread.
Mr Priestley said Gully had been surrounded by drug use and a sexual identity that’s lead him to writing a number of sexualised stories and into a number of dysfunctional relationships.
The Judge said while Gully’s mental health reduced his moral culpability, he understood the wrongfulness of his actions and is committed to refraining from seeking sexual gratification through offensive role-playing or transmissions in the future.
Gully was convicted and sentenced to a 13-month suspended jail term for using a carriage service to access child abuse material, pending adherence to a recognisance order for the duration.
He was also sentenced to an 18-month community correction order for using a carriage service to share child abuse material and a 12-month community correction order for the possession of a prohibited drug.
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