NAMED: 11 of Central Queensland’s child sex offenders
A man with 140,000 child porn files across 28 devices and a 68-year-old who preyed on three siblings are among 11 Central Queensland child sex offenders we name and shame today. FULL LIST
Rockhampton
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Central Queensland, despite its laidback lifestyle, is not immune from those who prey on, or seek to exploit children.
Here are the names of 11 people from Central Queensland who have been charged with child sex offences.
Daniel Terry Jewell - Possessing Child Exploitation Material
The 45-year-old computer technician was found with a whopping 140,000 child porn files across 28 devices.
He had been collecting illegal files for 20 years, the Rockhampton District Court heard on February 17, 2021.
Crown prosecutor Ryan Godfrey told the court police found on one USB six CEM files.
Mr Godfrey said the majority of CEM was of female children aged four to 12 and the focus was on them carrying out sexual activity.
The Crown rejected Jewell’s claims that he ‘did not have a sexual preference for children’.
Jewell’s defence barrister Jordan Ahlstrand told the court he had no children of his own, and lived in share accommodation for eight years without his housemates knowing of his collection.
Mr Ahlstrand said Jewell claimed he had not understood having this type of material in his possession was illegal until after being charged, but Judge Jeff Clark said he struggled to understand how Jewell could not understand this was illegal for 20 years, and he paid a subscription fee for software to hide his browsing history.
Judge Clark said ‘words fail me’ after reading the horrific descriptions from the police who had to review the material.
“It is abhorrent to think there is an interest, let alone a market, for this depravity,” he said.
Jewell pleaded guilty to one count of possessing CEM and was sentenced to two years and three months prison, suspended for four years after serving six months.
He lost his job at a local IT business in March 2020 before volunteering for Vinnies.
Charles Robert Holt - Indecent treatment of children and rape
This 68 year old preyed on three siblings and was convicted of child sex offences despite being done for previous depraved crimes against one of the children.
Crown prosecutor Samantha O’Rourke told the Rockhampton District Court in 2021 that Holt was subject to a probation order handed down in 1977 for unlawful carnal knowledge (sex) with the brother of the two other victims, and continued to offend against the current victims while on that probation order.
She said it was alarming a conviction for offending against the brother did not deter Holt.
Holt was convicted and sentenced to nine years imprisonment for maintaining a sexual relationship with another victim, aged six to 11, after a jury found him guilty in 2018.
Then he pleaded guilty on June 23, 2021 to four counts of indecent treatment of a child and one of rape.
Ms O’Rourke said the other two victims were 12 and 14, the latter was who he raped.
Holt’s crimes including rubbing genitals against a victim and getting the victims to touch him after driving onto a dirt road.
“I often wish I had died so I didn’t have to live with these flashbacks,” Ms O’Rourke said one of the victims wrote in their impact statement.
Holt’s barrister Maree Willey said Holt was aged 24-29 at the time of the offences, his mother was a victim of significant domestic violence, and he was a child sex abuse victim.
Ms Willey said Holt had completed a sex offender’s program in jail and attended bible studies.
Judge Clarke said the first victim suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, while her sister felt “dirty” and hated herself as a result of the offending.
“You used these children for your own sexual gratification,” he said.
“You have destroyed the lives of four innocent children and their families.”
Holt was jailed for 5.5 years with parole eligibility on April 4, 2025.
George Joseph Kennedy - Possessing Child Exploitation Material
The 51 year old had lived with his parents all his life before they died, but his Mount Morgan rental was raided by police on July 9, 2020.
He had 2489 child porn images and 617 videos on his computer.
Kennedy told police he had been watching child porn for 15 years, the Rockhampton District Court heard on June 9, 2021.
The court heard police turned on Kennedy’s TV and a screensaver of a five-year-old girl involved in a sexual act popped up.
During an interview, he told police he accessed the material for personal gratification and that he preferred girls aged between 10 and 15.
He said he knew what he was doing was wrong and expected police to attend.
One of the videos he had was of a pre-pubescent girl changing clothes in a change room with a hidden camera.
The court heard he told police he paid $90 per file on one of the sites.
Kennedy’s defence barrister Maree Willey said Kennedy never married, never had children, and had never been in a relationship.
Judge Jeff Clarke noted Kennedy conducted himself during the court proceedings as if he was “petrified”.
Kennedy pleaded guilty to one count of using a carriage service to access illegal material and one of possession child exploitation material and was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, with three months behind bars before being released.
He was also placed on a $1000 good behaviour bond for two years and probation for two years.
Michael John Jones - Possessing Child Exploitation Material
The 29-year-old miner’s child porn stash was uncovered by police on December 17, 2019, Crown prosecutor Tiffany Lawrence told the Rockhampton District Court.
Ms Lawrence said 1209 images and one video of CEM was found on Jones’ iPad and laptop.
She said one image was of a girl with her wrists bound by chains.
Jones’ defence barrister Nathan Boyd said he had undergone psychologist sessions and completed a 17 module online course for rehabilitation since his arrest.
Mr Boyd said the news of Jones’ charge spread like wildfire at his mine and in the Clermont community.
The court heard Jones had recently divorced and had two children.
Jones pleaded guilty to one count of possessing CEM and was sentenced to 18 months prison, wholly suspended for two years.
Jamie Andrew Watson - Maintaining sexual relationship and raping child, after previous conviction
The 23-year-old had already been sentenced in the Rockhampton District Court on November 22, 2019 for having sex with a 15 year old.
Crown prosecutor Samantha O’Rourke said Watson entered into a sexual relationship with his next victim only a week after being released on parole, which was on the date of his previous sentencing.
Ms O’Rourke told the court Watson had sex, including unprotected, with the victim every day until he ended the relationship, telling the victim he feared being caught and sent back to prison.
She said the victim woke one morning to find her shorts and underwear had been pulled down and Watson’s was raping her. Watson stopped raping her and left the room after she woke up.
In the second rape offence, Watson again crept into the victim’s room and raped her while she slept.
Watson’s offending was discovered by one of the victim’s family members after she sent messages to him threatening to tell someone about him raping her.
Her victim impact statement outlined how she became socially isolated and the impacts on her school and work.
Watson’s defence barrister Jordan Ahlstrand said Watson apologised to the victim immediately after the second rape and offered another apology in court.
Judge Clarke said there was a predatory aspect to Watson’s behaviour and was “alarmed” about him doing it just after six months in prison for the same offending behaviour.
Watson pleaded guilty in March 2021 to one count of maintaining a sexual relationship with a child, two counts of carnal knowledge of a child and two counts of rape.
He was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison with parole eligibility on November 6, 2022.
Brendan John Drake - Accessing child porn on the internet
The 54 year old handed himself in to police on August 27, 2019 and told them he was accessing child porn. He confessed because he was afraid of being caught.
Commonwealth prosecutor C Demarco told the Rockhampton District Court on January 15, 2021 that Drake told police he opened about 60 links and viewed the material for an hour and a half each day for a week.
“He viewed images of girls in sexualised poses, images of penetrative sex acts between adults and infants and images of children involved in solo masturbation,” Ms Demarco said.
Drake’s barrister Scott Moon said the police wouldn’t have known about this offence if he didn’t tell them.
He pleaded guilty to one count of using a carriage service to access child pornography material.
Judge Clarke sentenced Drake to 12 months imprisonment with immediate release on a $500 good behaviour bond for two years, and he had to forfeit his laptop.
Dr Stephen Peter Menzies Murray and Helen Constant - Producing Child Exploitation Material in Canada
Dr Murray was on a holiday in Canada and was sending sexually explicit messages relating to underage girls, the Rockhampton District Court heard in February 2020.
The court heard the SMSes included describing sexual activities with an 11 or 12-year-old female and a child aged between five and eight, and penetration with a child.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested Dr Murray on October 3, 2018 after he was dobbed in by a witness.
His partner Ms Constant was identified by Canadian police as the recipient.
Forensic analysis of Dr Murray‘s phone revealed a 900 word story titled “I get aroused by very young girls” written in Apple’s notes app.
Queensland Police searched both Dr Murray’s and Ms Constant’s homes.
Ten CEM images of two teenage girls partially clothed were found at Dr Murray’s home, and an iPhone and iPad were seized from Ms Constant’s home.
Dr Murray’s barrister Jeffrey Hunter said his client was still supported by his wife and three adult sons and that he spent 16 days in Canadian custody.
Mr Hunter said Dr Murray also had a “difficult childhood” due to “ill treatment at the hands of an abusive and narcissistic mother” and his stepfather participated.
Ms Constant’s barrister Jordan Ahlstrand said she had been a widow for more than 17 years, had a son, and lost her job as a registered nurse working at an aged care facility on January 31, 2020, due to this incident.
“The messages were private messages,” Mr Ahlstrand said.
“They were not intended to be seen by others.”
Judge Burnett said he had never sentenced anyone in his career for producing CEM for which the charge was based on SMS evidence alone.
“It was obvious to those that know (Dr Murray) that he has a maniac personality,” he said.
Dr Murray pleaded guilty to one count of producing CEM, one count of possessing CEM, and the Commonwealth charge of producing CEM while overseas. This replaced charges laid by Canadian authorities which were dropped on January 14, 2020.
Ms Constant pleaded guilty to one count of producing CEM.
Judge Burnett ordered Dr Murray to a $1000 three-year good behaviour bond for the federal offence and 18 months probation for the other two.
Ms Constant was sentenced to 12 months probations.
No convictions were recorded for either offender.
Christopher John Lewis - Convicted child rapist failed to report
The 23 year old was on a suspended prison sentence when he failed to report to police about a young girl living at his residence between January 31 and May 3, 2020.
The Gladstone Magistrates Court heard he also failed to report the change of a vehicle registration.
Lewis’ solicitor Cassandra Ditchfield his father had a friend over who happened to have children and it was ‘incidental’, as Lewis didn’t organise the child’s visit.
Ms Ditchfield said Lewis didn’t have any actual contact with the child and he thought he didn’t have to report.
Magistrate Bevan Manthey said he was concerned by the number of failures to comply with reporting conditions coming through the court.
“It’s a serious charge,” Mr Manthey said.
He sentenced Lewis to three months imprisonment with parole after one month.
Kate Louise Humphries - Indecent treatment of child
Humphries was 18 years old when she molested a 13-year-old girl, the Gladstone District Court heard on July 14, 2020.
Crown prosecutor Samantha O’Rourke said the most serious offending was when Humphries and a male co-offender engaged in sexual acts with the girl.
Ms O’Rourke said Humphries told the girl not to tell anyone.
She also passionately kissed the girl on another occasion.
Ms O’Rourke said the offending was discovered from the girl’s diary entries, discovered by her mother.
The young victim initially said they were false but she eventually confirmed the incidents to police.
Humphries’ barrister Maree Willey said her client had a clean history and otherwise good character, and she grew up in a household of drugs, alcohol, and domestic violence.
Judge Burnett said there were exceptional circumstances to this case but was concerned that Humphries told the victim not to tell anyone.
“Plainly, you knew what was going on was not right,” he said.
The victim wrote in her victim impact statement that she had become more reserved, less trusting and was embarrassed by the incident.
“Young women are particularly vulnerable and need protection from their own stupidity,” Judge Burnett said.
Humphries pleaded guilty to five counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16 and was given a two-year prison sentence suspended for three years, and 18 months of probation.
Timothy Spencer Morley - Possessing Child Exploitation Material (including beastiality)
The 35-year-old mine mechanic had his Calliope home raided on September 21, 2018.
Crown prosecutor Tiffany Lawrence said there were 631 CEM files found across three decides.
She said Morley initially denied having downloaded the material but eventually told police he found the material “sexually exciting”.
“There was a 36 minute-odd long video that showed a child engaging in beastiality,” Ms Lawrence said.
Morley’s defence barrister Scott Moon told the Rockhampton District Court that his client’s wife and mother were there to support him.
Judge Burnett sentenced Morley to 18 months imprisonment, wholly suspended for three years.
Nathan Neil Ramm - Distributing and possessing child exploitation material
The disgraced Cathedral College teacher and IT coordinator, 39, had been looking at illegal child exploitation images since he was 14 or 15.
He had 491 images and videos that fell within the COPINE scale between 1 - 5, many depicting the penetration of prepubescent children, according to Crown prosecutor Samantha O’Rourke.
The court heard Ramm, who was a member of many associations, including a local State Emergency Service branch and an Aussie rules club, was a highly regarded and respected member of The Cathedral College staff and community.
Defence barrister Michael Copley said Ramm kept his secret so well hidden that none of his colleagues suspected.
Mr Copley said Ramm explained he never sought help for his ‘habit’ as he feared the health authorities were required by law to report the illegal activity.
Mr Copley said Ramm told his psychologist he no longer viewed that type of material and he was in a happy homosexual relationship.
Ramm pleaded guilty in the Rockhampton District Court on July 21, 2020 to one count each of distributing and possessing child exploitation material (CEM).
Judge Michael Burnett sentenced Ramm to an 18-month prison term, wholly suspended and operational for three years, as well as 18 months probation where he would be required to attend psychiatric treatment as directed.
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