Gippsland landscaper Jesse Read faces Ballarat court over handwritten child abuse material

A convicted sex offender was caught with child abuse material written by hand in jail detailing sexual scenarios with ‘sisters’ and ‘cousins’.

Jesse Read, 23, was sentenced at Ballarat Magistrates’ Court for producing child abuse material. Picture: Facebook

A Gippsland sex offender wrote down sexual scenarios with kids as young as 5 including rape and impregnation from inside a prison cell as a form of psychological relief, a court has heard.

Landscaper Jesse Read, 23, was sentenced at Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to producing child abuse material.

The court heard Read, who was already serving a term of imprisonment until at least April 2025, wrote down descriptions of sexual acts with children aged from 5 to 14.

In January and February this year, prison staff searched Read’s cell and found 22 pages of material written in pen and pencil.

Some of it, though sexual, did not constitute child abuse material; some, however, outlined intercourse, including rape and impregnation, with people referred to as sisters and cousins.

Read faced Ballarat Magistrates’ Court from custody on Tuesday.

The court was told Read produced the material to get intrusive thoughts “out of [his] head”.

No real individuals were named in the documents, which were written in the first person.

Magistrate Michelle Mykytowycz, who called the offending “unusual”, said the material was not for sale or profit.

“It means this is not contributing to the market, ease of access, and anonymity the internet affords to those who produce, distribute, and view child abuse material over the internet,” she said.

Read was convicted and given three months’ imprisonment concurrent with the former sentence.