Matt Campbell pleads guilty to possessing child exploitation material

An anonymous call to Crime Stoppers has uncovered a former wildlife volunteer’s child exploitation material collection.

Matt Campbell appeared in Maroochydore District Court last week. Picture: Patrick Woods

A former wildlife volunteer will not spend time in jail after an anonymous tip off to police uncovered his child exploitation material stash.

It was a call to Crime Stoppers on May 15, 2023 that led detectives to the Maroochydore home of Matt Campbell where the revolting files of child abuse were found.

Maroochydore District Court was told last week the 37-year-old’s home was raided by police almost two months later on July 11, 2023 while he and his partner were home.

Crown prosecutor Caleb Theunissen said during the search police seized two laptops, a USB and an external hard drive which contained child exploitation material.

Officers asked the 37-year-old if he had any files he’d like to declare however the court heard he stated he “couldn’t remember” due to having a bad memory and visual impairment due to an illness.

Mr Theunissen said police found his USB inserted into his laptop however Campbell told them he hadn't used it “in years” and did not use the hard drive “for a very long time”.

During the warrant Campbell had a panic attack and was taken to hospital.

Matt Campbell outside court.

The court was told detectives found hundreds of child exploitation material images and dozens of videos, which the Maroochydore man had in his possession from November 1, 2019 to July 12, 2023.

Mr Theunissen said the files were of an “extremely graphic” and “particularly vulgar” nature committed against very young children as young as five-years-old.

The files were too horrid to describe and it was unknown how Campbell came into possession of them.

He was later charged with possessing child exploitation material, which he pleaded guilty to in court last week.

The Crown prosecutor said Campbell did not overly co-operate with police and despite his memory issues, he accessed the files 10 days before his house was raided.

Defence barrister Mark Dixon believed a combination of the 37-year-old’s mental and physical health conditions and his lack of criminal history meant he should not serve time behind bars.

The court heard finer details of Campbell’s diagnosis of auditory processing disorder which affected his memory, ability to understand and communication.

Campbell pleaded guilty.

The barrister said his client also suffered from a degenerative illness which deprived Campbell of his vision. This resulted in the 37-year-old surrendering his licence and obtaining the disability support pension.

Leading up to this, the Lismore born man volunteered in North Queensland in the zoo and wildlife industries. As he got older, however, Mr Dixon said Campbell’s developed mental health disorders which partnered with his low IQ led to him living a relatively “sheltered” life.

Mr Dixon said these factors combined would make jail too onerous for the 37-year-old, who he claimed showed insight into his crimes.

Judge Terry Gardiner accepted Campbell’s remorse but said the 37-year-old’s offending created a market for the depiction of child abuse.

He however believed the 37-year-old’s ailments meant there were exceptional circumstances for him not to spend time behind bars.

Campbell was jailed for 15 months, but this was immediately suspended for three years.

Originally published as Matt Campbell pleads guilty to possessing child exploitation material