Yiyang Li fronts court over possession of child abuse material

A porn addict from Ringwood busted with more than 18,000 child abuse images and videos requested vile material from a 15-year-old girl on Snapchat.

Yiyang Li outside the County Court after avoiding jail for possessing more than 18,000 child abuse images and videos.

Young age and good prospects of rehabilitation saved a porn addict who was found in possession of more than 18,000 child sex images from going to jail.

Yiyang Li, 20, escaped jail by the barest of margins when he appeared for sentencing in the County Court in Melbourne on Tuesday on charges of using a carriage service to solicit child abuse material and possessing child abuse material.

He was released on a reconnaissance order for three years on all charges.

Judge Robyn Harper said she wouldn’t detail the contents of the child abuse material in open court due to their graphic and distressing nature.

She said in September 2021, the Victoria Police Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team received information about an internet user who had uploaded child abuse material to Dropbox, Google and Snapchat between July and Aug, 2021.

Li’s email address was connected to the offending user account which led police to identify him. Among those he has had conversations with on Snapchat was a 15-year-old girl who Li requested child abuse material from.

Police discovered more than 18,000 child sex images and videos in electronic devices seized from Yiyang Li’s Ringwood home.

Police seized two iphones, a Macbook and a hard drive from Li’s Ringwood North home in November, 2021 which contained a total of 18,273 child abuse images.

Judge Harper said one of Li’s iphones contained 3688 child abuse images and 450 videos and another iphones had 73 images.

His Macbook had 6158 images and 542 videos while investigators found 841 images and videos in the hard drive.

It was also revealed that Li’s Mega.nz account contained 7513 images and 175 videos of child abuse material.

“The number of files you possessed was substantial. The nature of the material you possessed was abhorrent and plain disgusting, involving children as young as one year through to those aged about 15,” Judge Harper said.

“The number of images represents a vast number of child victims who are harmed in the production of these items. This is not a victimless crime.

“It is a crime which causes real and lasting harm to the children who are subjected to abuse for the vile gratification of those who possess or control the images. The public interest in the protection of children is high.”

Judge Harper said Li has accessed online porn since the age of 11 or 12 and initially it involved adults, then teenagers and ultimately younger children and other fetishes.

She said Li’s young age and good prospects of rehabilitation meant exceptional circumstances existed whereby a non-custodial sentence could be imposed.