Daniel Moore: Wangaratta man escapes jail over child abuse material

A petrol station attendant who took naked photos of a toddler, had more than 700 files of child abuse material on several hard drives.

Daniel Moore was sentenced to a three-year community corrections order. Picture: Tess Ikonomou

A petrol station attendant who took naked photos of an acquaintance’s toddler as she watched television has “narrowly” avoided being jailed.

Daniel Moore, 35, from Sebastopol, took explicit pictures of his three-year-old victim as she watched television inside her home — all the while her unsuspecting father entertained guests in his garage in 2019.

Magistrate Letizia Torres sentenced Moore to a three-year community corrections order on Tuesday in Ballarat Magistrates’ Court, labelling his offending as “troubling” and “very serious”.

“Mr Moore has only very, very narrowly avoided a jail term,” she said.

Ms Torres said Moore’s rehabilitation prospects were “guarded” but he would remain in the community due to his “significant deficits” including his autism, intellectual disability and mental health problems.

Ms Torres said she also took into account his guilty plea, employment and strong family support.

“You must engage in this treatment and you must do it properly. You need to talk honestly about your interest in child pornography,” she said.

“I’m giving you an opportunity to avoid going to jail today … if you don’t do it and do it properly, it’s very likely that you will end up in jail.”

Moore, now living in Wangaratta, was supported in court by his parents.

The court heard his offending was uncovered by his former partner after she visited his Sebastopol home to take her belongings.

When she turned on his computer and opened his Gmail account, she saw the pictures Moore had taken of the little girl, which he had sent to himself after deleting them from his phone.

When confronted, Moore said he knew he had “f***** up” and was not “mentally” in a good place.

When police raided Moore’s home they found more than 700 files of child abuse material on several hard drives.

Moore pleaded guilty to four charges including one count of intentionally produce child abuse material.

At a previous plea hearing, his lawyer told the court through her, Moore expressed his apologies to his victim and her family, as well as to his parents.

He will be required to complete a sex offenders program, justice plan and treatment for his mental health issues.

Moore will be a registered sex offender for 15 years.