Blake Dillon: Narre Warren South man pleads guilty to child porn offences
A Narre Warren South graphic designer who downloaded vile child abuse material of victims as young as 10 to help him “explore his sexuality” has dodged jail time.
South East
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An aspiring graphic designer who downloaded disgusting child abuse footage to “explore his sexuality” has escaped a jail sentence.
Blake Dillon, 20, was sentenced to a two-year community corrections order after he was caught with more than 1700 child porn images and videos stored across three laptops, including some of kids as young as 10.
During a raid on Dillon’s Narre Warren South home in June last year, investigators seized multiple devices which contained 1777 images and 25 hours of disturbing video footage, including some depicting sadism and bestiality.
Some of the files downloaded by Dillon also included videos of children being penetrated by adults.
Dillon pleaded guilty to possessing child abuse material at the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on March 15.
The court heard Dillon first stumbled across the disgusting content on the internet before delving into the dark web to find more content to feed his “habit”.
Dillon, who was 19 when police raided his home in June last year, told police he first downloaded child abuse material when he was about 14 years old, initially looking at kids his own age but then seeking out younger children.
“Eventually I found myself going to the dark web to find more videos … (and) eventually it became a bit of a habit,” he said.
“There’s nothing I can really say to defend myself beyond that I was an idiot teenager who let a problem develop into something beyond my control, forming almost an addiction that I have since made a true effort to fix.
“That doesn’t make up for the mistakes I’ve made. No matter what age you are, possessing this kind of content is illegal.”
The court heard Dillon had last viewed the vile content the day before police raided his home on June 4 last year.
Defence lawyer Pardeep Tiwana said his client had fully co-operated with police from the start, including voluntarily handing over a laptop which contained the “overwhelming majority” of the images and videos.
Mr Tiwana said Dillon had struggled to cope with the breakdown of his parents’ marriage, severe verbal and physical bullying and his bisexuality.
“When he was 14 where he plucked up the courage to speak to his parents about his feelings but … was told that such feelings were not acceptable,” he said.
Mr Tiwana said Dillon had “found some solace and comfort in the online world”, chatting to men in forums and downloading the graphic child porn they sent to him.
“We are not dealing with a paedophile who is exploiting young children — he is a young man who has dealt with significant events which have impacted his mental wellbeing, his self-esteem and his confidence,” he said.
“This is not a case of a socially immature adult, but an innocent young boy growing up and grappling with life issues all alone.”
Mr Tiwana said his client had himself fallen victim to online predators as a young teen, sending images and videos of himself via chat rooms when asked to.
“He received replies complimenting him on his appearance and that made him feel better and happier about himself,” he said.
The court heard Dillon sought support from a psychologist in July last year and has been described as a “highly engaged client who has been compliant and responsive to treatment”.
“His prospects of rehabilitation are good but he will need ongoing support,” Mr Tiwana said.
Character references were also provided to the court by Dillon’s mother, father, grandparents and current girlfriend.
Magistrate Suzette Dootjes said Dillon’s offending was “significantly serious”.
“It is the view of courts and the community that child exploitation offences are particularly grave,” she said.
“There is no suggestion here that you were involved in any production, sale or distribution of such material...but what you do do by being in possession and accessing the material is provide a market for that material.”
Ms Dootjes said Dillon’s youth, his genuine remorse and his good prospects of rehabilitation were key factors in her sentencing consideration.
“Offences like this almost invariably warrant a custodial term but given the facts above ... I am going to place you on a community corrections order,” she said.
Dillon was sentenced to a two-year CCO, which includes mental health treatment. He must also undertake a sexual offenders behaviour treatment program.
No conviction was recorded.
He will be placed on the sex offenders’ register for the mandatory minimum period of eight years.
