Mitcham man convicted of child pornography and child grooming charges avoids jail

A MELBOURNE man convicted of accessing and transmitting child pornography a judge described as “depraved” and “repugnant” has escaped immediate jail time.

Gavel and block. Judge court law legal. File stock images. Picture: ThinkStock / Getty Images

A MITCHAM man convicted of accessing and transmitting child pornography a judge described as “depraved” and “repugnant” has escaped immediate jail time.

The man, who cannot be identified due to a suppression order, pleaded guilty at the County Court to child pornography charges relating to hundreds of images and videos found on his computer, and also pleaded guilty to the grooming of a minor for sexual activity.

Despite the judge yesterday saying the man’s offending was “repugnant”, “depraved” and “offends against the values of the community in a grave manner”, he was not sent to prison.

The judge handed down a nine-month jail term, but ordered he be immediately released and have the sentence hang over his head for four years.

The court heard a raid on the man’s home in August 2013 revealed he had almost 300 images and videos on his computer.

One of the videos showed the sexual penetration of a child as young as six, but the vast majority of the content was animated in nature, yet the judge said the animations were “realistic” and some of it depicted sexual acts with babies.

“The children depicted are your victims,” the judge told the man.

The man was also caught involved in a sexually explicit online chat conversation by undercover police who were posing as a teenage girl.

In the online chat that spanned two days in October 2012, the man thought he was talking a 13-year-old Brisbane girl.

The court heard the man introduced the topic of sex during the chat and went on to give instructions on how to masturbate.

He said that he wished the girl lived closer and discussed the possibility of travelling to Brisbane, but never acted on it.

“It is clearly in the public interest that children are protected from predatory behaviour such as yours,” the judge said.

On top of having the nine-month jail sentence hanging over his head for four years, the judge ordered the man to do 250 hours of unpaid community work and undergo psychiatric treatment as part of a three-year community corrections order.

He will also remain on the sex offenders register for life.

In handing down the sentence, the judge said she took into account the 18-month delay between the raid and the day he was charged, his “exceptional efforts” in voluntarily seeking treatment, and his “genuine remorse and shame”.