Adam Bayard: Shocking stories emerge about child porn creep

Parents have come forward after a man was sentenced for having child porn dating back 50 years, revealing he was a regular presence at dance events.

Adam Bayard was caught with child porn dating back 50 years.

While the other children in her neighbourhood enjoyed playing in the summer sun, Mary’s* young daughter was confined to her bedroom and lounge.

It wasn’t because she had misbehaved, but rather the man with one of Queensland’s largest collections of child exploitation material lived next door.

“It is disgusting,” Mary said.

Living in the shadow of a pervert

The Kingsthorpe mum knew her neighbour Adam Bayard was up to something depraved after he was arrested and charged with multiple counts of possessing child exploitation material in 2023.

But the full scope of his perverted collection was only made public when he pleaded guilty to the offences on Monday, and was jailed by a District Court judge.

He was not charged with any other offences, and had no previous criminal history.

He had millions of images and videos, ranging from child models cut from shopping catalogues to sickening images of children bound and abused by adults.

They were stored on an encrypted network of 23 computers with each device named after his favourite child. Names like ‘Penny’ and ‘Miss Melody’.

There were so many files, duplicates of high risk child exploitation material, regular pornography and benign photos that Task Force Argos investigators had to use an algorithm to estimate the number of unique images and videos.

They put it at about 170,000 child exploitation files.

The court also heard police found a manual outlining how to groom children.

“He told police he had nothing to feel guilty about, that sexual attraction to children was natural, and he spoke at length about his longstanding interest and research into how children could achieve arousal,” Crown prosecutor Abby Kong told the court.

“He told police that he did not think any harm was done to any children as a result of being sexualised and he really sought to shift the blame onto society and the law around the age of consent as opposed to his conduct.”

It is a twisted obsession that was hidden by Bayard’s banal appearance.

“He kept to himself,” Mary said.

“We spoke a couple of times, just about the neighbouring trees and fences.

“I found out when my daughter was really young, when I read about him in the Chronicle.”

For the past two years the family have been too scared to let their daughter play where Bayard could see her, but unwilling to sell up and move on.

“What do you do, I don’t want to subject another young family to what we have gone through,” Mary said.

“We do know about him so we could protect our daughter as much as we could.

“It is very stressful, we felt unsafe.”

Bayard was handed a five-year jail sentence, suspended after 12 months, so he will return to the home has owned for 30 years.

It is a brief reprieve for Mary.

“We can finally have a birthday party for our daughter at our house because we didn’t want to invite other kids here.

“You don’t want to subject them to that.”

Dance community in shock

It was revealed during Bayard’s sentencing that he kept a schedule of the local eisteddfod, ballet and dance recitals on his fridge.

Since the story broke, several parents, dancers and organisers have come forward describing Bayard as a regular at their events.

A Brisbane mother, whose daughter performed ballet in the Darling Downs and Lockyer Valley, had a vivid memory of meeting Bayard.

Sue* said Bayard approached her daughter after a Toowoomba recital, commented on how her technique had improved then asked for a photo and her autograph.

“He said that he had been to many of my daughter’s dances and had been watching her for years,” she said.

“He took a personal photo of my daughter with his phone.

Toowoomba Eisteddfod and the Toowoomba Ballet Theatre both confirmed Bayard was a regular patron who would often sit in the front row.

They said he had also inquired about volunteering.

“He was a very quiet person but we have never seen him in the dressing area or anywhere backstage, he only ever sat in the audience,” Toowoomba Eisteddfod organiser Ora Whitley said.

Mia Huston from the Toowoomba Ballet Theatre said while Bayard was a regular, he was kept at distance.

“The recent conviction of Adam Bayard has sent shockwaves through the dance community.

“This man was well known in the region as a regular attendee to children’s events throughout the Toowoomba and Lockyer Valley region.

“Not only are my current students and their families deeply affected by this case.

“We are disheartened by the sentence handed down in this case. For Mr. Bayard to receive only 12 months in prison is an outright failure of our judicial system.

“As a community, we expect and demand stronger protections and more severe consequences.”

Bayard will be released from jail on June 9, 2026.

*Names have been changed for privacy.