Former NT Police acting Sergeant Edgar Maxwell Hayden busted with child abuse material for the second time

A former Territory cop has been busted for a second time with a large collection of ‘distressing’ child abuse materials. See why the courts heard he still posed ‘a fairly significant risk to our community’.

Former NT Police acting Sergeant Edgar Maxwell Hayden was kicked out of the force in 2017 after his collection of child abuse materials was discovered.

An ex-Territory cop rebooted his vile online searches for “graphic” and “distressing” child abuse just months after his previous sentence for the exact same crime ended.

Former NT Police acting sergeant Edgar Maxwell Hayden appeared in the Supreme Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to accessing and possessing more than 21,000 images of child abuse material.

This was the second time the 54-year-old Darwin father had been busted with the depraved material.

In 2017 Hayden was kicked out of the NT Police Force after his collection of more than 12,000 depraved images was discovered.

He was sentenced to two months in prison, with a two year suspended sentence.

Former NT Police acting Sergeant Edgar Maxwell Hayden was kicked out of the force in 2017 after his collection of child abuse materials was discovered.

On Tuesday, prosecutor Mary Chalmers said just three months after his sentence expired Hayden resumed his sick searches in March 2021.

For two years and eight months his crimes flew under the radar, until police arrived at his door with a search warrant on November 27, 2023.

Ms Chalmers said they uncovered 21,189 “graphic” files on his phone, while his computer’s internet history showed he searched the exact same search terms as his 2017 offending.

She said investigators found images of children as young as four in “distressed positions”.

Ms Chalmers said as a former cop with 12 years experience on the force, Hayden carried a “high level of moral culpability”.

Yet she said he showed a “significant lack of insight” into his offending, claiming he was “not a paedophile” as he had not physically abused the children.

Prosecutor Mary Chalmers said just three months after his sentence expired Hayden resumed his sick searches in March 2021. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Justice Kelly told Hayden his actions had a real, traumatising impact on children while also feeding the underground market for their abuse.

“The child victims are not only traumatised by the original abuse, but they may be retraumatised over many years knowing the images of their abuse, their distress, their humiliation and their pain can be viewed online years later by men like you,” she said.

Hayden’s defence barrister, Peter Maley said Hayden was “deeply ashamed”, and remained supported by his family and potential future employers.

“I don’t think the community has given up on him yet,” Mr Maley said.

Mr Maley advocated for Hayden to avoid a “crushing sentence”, but Justice Kelly said her hands were tied under mandatory sentencing rules.

Defence instructing solicitor Peter Maley leaving the Supreme Court in Darwin. Picture: Zizi Averill

Justice Kelly sentenced Hayden to four years and six month in prison, with a non-parole period of 18 months.

Hayden has been in prison since December 2023, meaning he will be eligible for release in seven months.

Mr Maley told the court despite Haydney needing a “crafted program of counselling and support”, he had been unable to access any rehabilitative programs during his 11 months on remand .

“It’s so crowded that there’s simply no possibility of getting on a list where you can do ... a sexual offenders program at this stage,” he said.

Ms Chalmers said without rehabilitation Hayden represented “a fairly significant risk to our community”.