Brandon Wood: Ballarat tradie failed to meet sex offender register conditions
Former Ballarat tradie Brandon Wood, who now lives in the western suburbs, failed to tell police about his online identities.
West
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A former Ballarat tradie who previously avoided jail time after his workmates found child abuse material on his phone kept secret Snapchat and online gaming accounts, defying a requirement to report his online activities to police.
Brandon Wood, 24, was in 2018 ordered onto the sex offenders register for eight years when he admitted was attracted to young girls and had been watching child abuse material, including bestiality.
His offending came to light when the former apprentice cabinet maker’s workmates looked through his phone at a 2016 work Christmas party and found hundreds of disgusting photos of children being sexually abused.
Wood, who now lives in the western suburbs, faced the Sunshine Magistrates Court on Thursday where he admitted to five counts of failing to comply with his sex offender reporting obligations.
Court documents show Wood, at an annual interview with police in 2019, told an officer he had a previously undisclosed Snapchat account, a Vodafone mobile broadband account, and three online gaming accounts.
Defence lawyer David Tamanika said his client deserved credit for admitting his offending to police.
The court heard online paedophiles posed a serious risk to children and that social media and internet gaming accounts were notoriously used to get access to children.
Wood told police in an interview he had been kicked out of home, was stressed at work, had “a lot on my plate” and forgot to report his Vodafone account.
When confronted about his Snapchat account he said it was new, only to then admit to police he had lied and that he set it up “ages ago”, in 2015, more than a year before his first offending.
Wood was convicted, fined $1500 and ordered to pay court costs.
He was also warned he would likely be jailed if he breached his obligations again.
Wood in recent weeks finished serving his three year community from his original offending, under which he was banned form leaving Victoria.
He will remain a registered sex offender until 2026.
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