Mackay men busted for child abuse images, named
From a boilermaker’s ‘experimental incident’ to a former navy chef’s 11,000-strong collection, here are 11 Mackay and Whitsunday locals convicted in child exploitation material cases.
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They are some of Mackay’s most horrific crimes committed.
From a boilermaker’s “experimental incident” to a former navy chef’s 11,000-strong collection, these are 11 Mackay residents convicted for child exploitation material.
Shaun Peter Coventry
A Bowen man jailed for sending “d--k pics” to underage teen girls pushed to have the conviction quashed, arguing the jury verdict was “unreasonable”.
A jury believed Shaun Peter Coventry began chatting with two teens, aged 15 and 13, on social media to specifically engage in sexual acts in 2017.
Then 28, he called himself Luke Norbet and sent both girls images of an adult male penis, and had the older teen take explicit photos of herself and engage in sexual chats over the phone.
In November 2019, he was found guilty of two counts each of using electronic communications to procure a child under 16 and indecent treatment of a child under 16, and one count of involving a child in making child exploitation material.
He was jailed for two years with parole eligibility in November 2020, but in February 2021 Coventry appealed the verdict on the grounds it was unreasonable or could not be supported having regard to the evidence.
The appeal was rejected.
Anthony Andrew Thompson
A Mackay boilermaker found with vile videos of child abuse argued it was an “experimental incident”.
Police raided 34-year-old Anthony Andrew Thompson’s Mackay home in August 2019, discovering 17 files on his laptop and a USB containing child abuse videos.
Mackay District Court heard the horrific videos included little girls forced to engage in sex acts on their own and with others.
Thompson pleaded guilty in Mackay District Court on Monday to possessing child exploitation material.
In August 2021, he was sentenced to 12 months jail, suspended immediately with the operation of the order to continue for two years.
A conviction was recorded.
Damian Grayson Carr
A Toowoomba man with a predilection for accessing child exploitation material when high on meth has been spared jail time because of “exceptional circumstances”.
Damian Grayson Carr had been jailed for two and a half years after appearing in Mackay District Court in 2014. He had pleaded guilty to possessing more than 22,800 images of child exploitation material.
During a check of his mobile phone on May 30, 2020, police found 143 images of child exploitation material.
Carr, 41, pleaded guilty to possessing child exploitation material.
His barrister Frank Martin told the court his client had drug-induced psychosis, depression and other mental health issues, and would be vulnerable in jail.
Carr was sentenced to 15 months in jail, wholly suspended for 12 months.
A conviction was recorded.
Child abuse and bestiality
The “perverted” crimes of a Mackay man have been revealed in shocking detail, as he admitted to sexually abusing his stepdaughter and filming himself having sex with his dog.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, claimed he was high on meth at the time of the offending.
The young victim was aged between three and four when she was subjected to sexual abuse while the man was living with her and her mother in Mackay.
A housemate discovered his vile offending when she saw him exposing himself to the young girl.
The housemate also discovered a device with child exploitation material, which included videos of the man offending against the little girl.
The court heard the most serious video showed the man orally raping the girl as she retched and cried ‘no’.
There were also 13 videos of the man engaging in sex with his dog, including footage of him being penetrated by the dog, masturbating the dog or pushing the dog’s penis inside a woman.
The man, aged in his late 30s, pleaded guilty to 29 charges including seven counts of bestiality, as well as counts of rape, indecent treatment of a child under 12 under care, and making child exploitation material.
All the offences were committed between January 2018 and August 2019.
The man was sentenced to a total of seven years jail with a parole eligibility date of December 1, 2021.
Brian Peter Rogers
A Cannonvale volunteer found with more than 200 images of child exploitation material has a jail sentence hanging over his head for the next two years.
Brian Peter Rogers spent three days in police custody following the offences, but was spared further time in jail when he was sentenced in Mackay District Court in November 2020.
In July 2018, police searched Rogers’ boat in relation to other matters and found 201 pieces of child exploitation material on various devices including a laptop and USB.
The photos ranged in severity, from photos of clothed pre-pubescent girls with camera shots focused on their genital area to images of an adult penis in the mouth and vagina of a young child.
On November 23, 2020, Rogers pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing child exploitation material.
Rogers was sentenced to a year in jail to be suspended after three days, which he had already served in custody before his court appearance.
The suspended sentence will hang over his head for two years and convictions were recorded.
Dayle Ashley Thackray
A Mackay District Court judge has noted a possible link between ice use and deviant sexual behaviour as a man caught with child abuse material learned his fate.
Police found 12 unique images and nine duplicate child exploitation images on Dale Ashley Thackray’s phone during a search of his Airlie Beach home on June 15, 2019.
Judge Julie Dick noted a number of recent cases while sitting in Mackay District Court where there had been “a connection between ice and really quite deviant sexual behaviour”.
Mackay District Court heard the images were all category one, which is the least serious for that type of material.
Thackray pleaded guilty to possessing child exploitation material, which generally evokes an actual custodial sentence unless the court deems there to be exceptional circumstances.
He was placed on two years’ probation and a conviction was not recorded, but he was placed on the registered sex offenders list.
Intellectually-disabled 15 year old exploited
When police interrupted a man hanging out with a teenage girl at a park, they uncovered a “repugnant” case of exploitation.
The man was on bail for prior offending when police approached him and an intellectually-disabled 15-year-old girl on October 12, 2019.
His phone had four posed images of the girl including in her underwear, nude and another exposing her genitalia.
Police also found four days of “sexualised messages” between the girl and a 24-year-old Mackay man.
Crown prosecutor Elise Sargent said the man’s grooming included messages asking her to have anal and oral sex.
He pleaded guilty to using an electronic communication with an intent to procure a person under 16 in a sexual act and knowingly possessing child exploitation material.
Judge Leanne Clare said it was clear the man had encouraged the explicit exchanges.
“You engaged her in role-play, you referred to yourselves as daddy and daddy’s little girl,” Judge Clare said.
“It was sex talk and a kidnap fantasy.
“You groomed her so that she was actually enthusiastic about the most repugnant exploitation.”
The accused man was sentenced to two and a half years in jail, which was to be suspended after he had served nine months.
He was also registered as a sex offender, with the balance of the sentence hanging over his head for a further three years.
Dean James Hansen
A former navy chef caught with 11,000 child exploitation images avoided going to jail after a judge found there were “exceptional circumstances” including his own sexual abuse as a boy.
A lawyer for Dean James Hansen, a Mackay father of two, said his client first came across child exploitation material in an “accidental way” while repairing an old computer he had picked up at the dump to on-sell.
Police raided his home after detecting an IP address Hansen was using downloaded files including one titled “Ukrainian Gentle Angel Sex”.
Officers discovered child abuse material was being downloaded into a folder containing similar images and videos.
The court heard of the 11,000 images, 98 per cent were considered low level child exploitation material while 190 were tagged “INTERPOL Baseline”, meaning they showed children under the age of 13 naked or involved in, or witnessing, a sex act.
There were also 86 videos, 24 of which were in that more serious category and another 62 were considered child exploitation material but not “INTERPOL Baseline”.
In November 2020, the 53 year old pleaded guilty to using a carriage service to access child abuse material and possessing child abuse material.
Hansen was jailed for 15 months with immediate release on a $1000 three-year good behaviour bond.
He was also placed on a 15-month wholly suspended jail term for three years as well as a two-year probation order under which he must submit to medical, psychiatric and psychological treatment as directed.
Revenge porn into child exploitation
A revenge porn offender was labelled “spiteful” and “immature” for sending sexual images and videos of his former girlfriend to others over social media after they broke up.
Mackay District Court heard the 21 year old blamed the victim, saying he was angry the girl cheated on him during their relationship.
He and the victim, who was 16, had been in a relationship for about eight months before breaking up.
The relationship included the taking of consensual sexual photos and videos.
The court heard the man “was blind” when he sent out the explicit material to others on social media.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of distributing child abuse material in between June 2018 and March 2019, an offence which has a maximum penalty of 15 years jail.
On November 4, 2020, the man was placed on a 12-month intensive corrections order, which is a term of imprisonment that is served in the community.
He must comply with conditions including participating in community service, twice weekly reporting and counselling.
He was also jailed for 12 months with immediate release on a two-year good behaviour bond coinciding with a two-year probation order.
Vile predator rapes young niece, has footage of category four exploitation material
A vile predator has been jailed for nine years over the horrific sexual abuse of two children.
The two kids – a boy and a girl, both aged six to seven years – had been under his care at the time in the Mackay region.
Mackay District Court head he was the little girl’s uncle by marriage and was often her babysitter when the offending occurred.
The offending occurred between 2017 and 2019, which included touching her and making her touch him, oral sex, raping her with objects and attempting to have actual sex.
He was also found with 12 images depicting graphic sex acts between adults and young children.
The 29 year old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to 24 charges including rape, attempted rape, 17 counts of indecent treatment of children under 12, maintaining a sexual relationship with a child and possessing child exploitation material.
The man was jailed for nine years on June 24, 2020, and will be eligible for parole in February 2022.
Confronting violent video and hospital visit for 14-year-old girlfriend
A confronting video showed a teen girl crying as her older boyfriend slapped her around the face four times.
His abusive behaviour resulted in the child being admitted to hospital when she could not access her lifesaving diabetic medication and where he taunted her with “callous” threats.
The Mackay pair, who could not be named for legal reasons, had been dating for about 10 months when matters came to police attention.
A month after they got together they had sex, she was aged 14 and he was 18.
He advertised her for sale on a buy swap and sell group on Facebook.
On March 24, 2020, the then 20 year old pleaded guilty to more than 40 offences including unlawful carnal knowledge, making and possessing child exploitation material and numerous breaches of a domestic violence order.
He was jailed for 2.5 years, with immediate parole after serving 298 days in custody, and placed on three years probation.
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