Graeme Maxwell fronts court for soliciting child abuse material

An 84-year-old Melbourne sex grub tried to get a Filipino woman to film her children involved in sex acts for cash, but he won’t spend a day in jail.

Graeme Maxwell was charged after investigators found child sex images on multiple devices during a search warrant.

An octogenarian Melbourne sex grub who tried to get a Filipino woman to film her children involved in sex acts for cash won’t spend a day in jail.

Graeme Maxwell, 84, of Olinda, solicited child abuse material from a woman on Skpe based in the Philippines, including requesting livestream sexual acts and still images involving her and her two children.

Maxwell appeared for sentencing in the County Court on Thursday after earlier pleading guilty to charges of using a carriage service to obtain child abuse material.

He was released on a reconnaissance order to be of good behaviour for two years, with Judge Anne Hassan cited Maxwell’s age as a factor in not sending him to jail.

The Victoria Police Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team executed a warrant at Maxwell’s home in July 2023 and seized electronic devices after receiving information about him soliciting child abuse material from a user on Skype, based in the Philippines, named Jazz.

Judge Anne Hassan said forensic examination of Maxwell’s phone revealed he made numerous requests from Jazz for child abuse material, including livestream sexual acts and still images involving her and her children, between April and June 2023.

Graeme Maxwell frequently sought child abuse material during his Skype chat with a mother-of-two from the Philippines.

Also located across six devices were 35 files of child abuse material, involving a 19-minute video file which depicted livestream sexual activity with an adult Filipino person using the name “Keep Your Faith Philippines 20”.

Judge Hassan said Maxwell communicated with people in the Philippines who were willing to do sex shows for money but denied participation of children. He also denied ever paying money to receive child abuse material.

Maxwell offered no explanation for his offending, the judge said, although his son said he was embarrassed and ashamed and had apologised to his family.

“But this still stops well short of any expression of contrition or acknowledgment of the harm your offending has caused to your victims,” Judge Hassan said.

The prosecution submitted that Maxwell requested material of a highly depraved nature over six week, and engaged in multiple chats from Jazz in the Philippines who needed money to provide for her children.

“You were not seeking to exploit a child of very young years but what you were clearly doing was preying upon defenceless children living in poverty and being exploited and traded for profit,” Judge Hassan said.

“Your conversations with the adult person in the Philippines in which you discussed abusing children is indicative of your ongoing sexual interest in children and precludes any submission that your conduct involved an inexplicable lapse of judgment.

“This type of conduct, although not involving real children, fuels the consumption and trade in child abuse material which the courts has observed is a pernicious international trade,” she said.