Former school chaplain Paul Worsnop wins appeal to overturn conviction of child abuse material possession

A former school chaplain and Victoria Police volunteer found guilty of possessing close to 1000 stomach-turning child abuse images has has his conviction overturned.

Former police Chaplain Paul Worsnop has been acquitted of a possession of child abuse material conviction after he’d been found guilty in October last year.

A former high school chaplain and Victoria Police volunteer who was found guilty of possessing close to 1000 child abuse images has had his conviction overturned in the County Court.

Paul Worsnop, 64, fronted the County Court on September 23, where he won an appeal to overturn a 2023 conviction for possessing 861 images of child abuse material across two portable hard drives.

The court heard Mr Worsnop’s Vermont home was raided in 2021, where police uncovered two portable hard drives containing the large amount of child abuse material.

The sickening images had been saved onto the hard drives between 2009 and 2013.

Mr Worsnop had been stood down from his volunteer position at Victoria Police in August 2021 following the charges.

He had also worked as a school chaplain at St Helena Secondary College and Auburn High School, alongside being a Scout leader.

Paul Worsnop worked as a volunteer chaplain for Victoria Police.

He continued to work at St Helena Secondary College until at October 2021.

Mr Worsnop had always maintained his innocence, saying the material was stored in a folder labelled “virus material” and could have been planted on the devices by someone else.

In September 2023, the court heard the files had been organised in a “meticulous” way.

The court heard the hard drives had been taken home by Mr Worsnop from the Clayton Church of Christ after they had been used to backup old computers.

The computers had a “generic password” and had been open for use to other people.

Mr Worsnop had admitted to police he knew there was adult pornography on the devices but maintained that he had “never seen or desired to see child abuse material”, and further denied allegations that he had solicited such material.

On Monday, Judge Timothy Carmody said he “was not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Worsnop knew the hard drives contained child abuse material”.

Judge Carmody set aside the two year community corrections order and dismissed the charge against Mr Worsnop.