These are the Tasmanians caught possessing nauseating child pornography
These are just some of Tassie’s general practitioners, television presenters and teachers who have been sprung with disgusting child exploitation materials. SEE THE LIST AND THEIR CRIMES >>
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THESE are just some of Tassie’s general practitioners, television presenters and teachers who have been sprung with disgusting child exploitation materials.
For some of the men appearing on the Mercury’s latest list, their crimes stop at the possession of child exploitation materials.
For others, acquiring child pornography was the tip of the sinister iceberg, with paedophiles and those responsible for producing their own child exploitation materials among the throng of named and shamed criminals.
The list is anticipated to only grow longer as top cops warn child pornography viewing is on the rise.
Andrew Robert Muirhead
Perhaps one of Tasmania’s most famous child pornography cases in recent years, Mr Muirhead was somewhat famous for presenting on radio and television for the ABC and hosting the antiques television show Collectors.
More familiarly known as Andy Muirhead, the media personality and comedy performer – who is now in his mid-forties – was charged with using a carriage service for child pornography material and possession of child exploitation material.
The material included 12,409 images and 24 videos downloaded from the internet depicting some 1,930 different children between three and 14 years old.
The severity of the material involved sadism, humiliation, bondage, defecation and penetrative sexual activity.
Mr Muirhead was sentenced to imprisonment for ten months from July 31 2012, serving four months before paying $5,000 in recognisance.
Jesse Elijah Hall
Nearly 2,000 images and videos of “serious” child pornography were discovered on a number of Mr Hall’s electronic devices.
The footage depicted torture, bestiality, humiliation and sexual abuse.
Mr Hall’s shameful habit was discovered during an FBI investigation into an online child pornography ring on the website Playpen, where child pornography was advertised and distributed.
He accessed the site multiple times for up to 23 hours in total.
Justice Robert Pearce said children were at risk of “grave sexual abuse” in the pursuit of creating child pornography to meet the demand of consumers like Mr Hall.
Justice Pearce deemed the children in the images and videos “real victims”.
The now 31-year-old was charged in 2015 and sentenced in October this year in the Supreme Court to a 12 month home detention order and a 12 month prison term fully suspended on a $2,000 good behaviour bond.
Darrel George Harington
Controversially employed by the Department of Education for decades despite complaints made against him, Mr Harington’s charges include one count of Producing child exploitation material and one count of Possessing child exploitation material.
Overall there were nine complaints levelled against Mr Harington relating to incidents of indecent assault and maintaining a sexual relationship with a young person from 1978 to 2013 within the education system.
Mr Harington had also shown adult pornography to two school boys the night prior to a trip to Maria Island.
The Supreme Court deemed much of Mr Harington’s child abuse material to be “at the lower end of the scale of seriousness”, but noted “the evils of the possession of child exploitation material”.
He was charged in 2015, but Mr Harington would later face fresh charges of indecent assault and maintaining a sexual relationship with a young person in 2020, sparking an a deep dive by the Mercury into how the teacher was able to work in the department for so long.
Mr Harington was sentenced to five years backdated to February 28 2019, having previously been sentenced to seven years from September 1 2015 on his earlier charges.
The former teacher worked at Clarence High School, Hobart Matriculation College, New Town High School, Campania District School, CSIRO, Rosetta High School and Ogilvie High School.
GP Jeremy Phillip Buddle
A former practising doctor, Mr Buddle was convicted of one count of using a carriage service for child pornography material and possession of child exploitation material in March 2011.
21,025 child pornography images were found during a 2009 police search of Mr Buddle’s home computer and hard drive.
The images showed mostly male children posing erotically and engaging in penetrative sex.
Police believed as many as 63,000 of the image files on Mr Buddle’s computer and hard drive showed child pornographic material, but they did not examine the remaining photos for evidence.
The depicted children were estimated to have ranged from nine-years-old to early teens entering into sexual activities.
“To expose the children to this must impact adversely on their perceptions as they grow to adulthood of what is usual and unusual behaviour,” comments on passing sentence from Justice Shan Tennent said.
“Were it not for people such as you who create a market for this type of image, they would not be produced.”
Mr Buddle was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for the first charge, eligible for suspension six months into the sentence provided $2,000 in recognisance is paid, and sentenced to a concurrent 12 months imprisonment for the second count.
Derick Cook
Prior to his sentence in February this year of nine months’ jail, with six months suspended on the condition he commits no offence punishable by imprisonment within 18 months of release, Mr Cook had no prior convictions.
Unlike some of the aforementioned men who made their way onto this list, Mr Cook’s primary obsession was with females – specifically, female underwear.
1,700 child exploitation images were found on Mr Cook’s computer during a police raid in August 2018.
The 56-year-old is married with three children.
Chief Justice Alan Blow said two of Mr Cook’s images were classed in the fifth and worst child exploitation material category depicting sadism, bestiality or child abuse, while 289 were classed as category four images displaying penetrative sex.
Mr Cook also sent child pornography images to other people online.
He was charged with accessing child exploitation material, possessing child exploitation material and distributing child exploitation material.
Sonny Day
Justice Alan Blow dubbed Mr Day’s case as “unusually bad” when he pleaded guilty to 67 charges related to child pornography.
The charges included possessing, producing and publishing child exploitation material and using a carriage service for it.
The AFP had searched his home and found Mr Day was an “administrator” for one of the child pornography websites he accessed.
The Supreme Court found some 43 images found in his possession included written comments “of an extreme level of depravity”.
Mr Day was arrested, charged and bailed on December 1 2010, with bail conditions requiring that he not loiter near children or any places where children were present, such as public toilets.
He was arrested for breaching bail conditions on Christmas Day.
The material from his devices suggested Mr Day had a sexual interest in children he knew personally.
Justice Blow said Mr Day’s lengthier sentencing was based in part on the “long period” of his crimes and the “high proportion of extremely bad material” along with encouraging others to sexually abuse children.
He was sentenced in March 2012 to two years six months prison with effect from December 25 2010, and three years’ imprisonment from December 25 2012 eligible for parole after six months.
The convicted child pornographer was LATER sentenced to four months imprisonment in September 2016 for producing child exploitation material.
He was found dead May 2017 aged 61 after previously living in a home for child sex offenders.
Nicolaas Ockert Bester
Mr Bester is now known for the sexual abuse of Tasmanian Australian of the Year Grace Tame, who spearheaded the #letherspeak campaign giving victims the opportunity to be named and share their stories.
But in addition to Mr Bester’s high-profile case of maintaining a sexual relationship with a young person, for which he was sentenced to two years and ten months’ imprisonment in August 2011, the former schoolteacher was later charged with producing child exploitation material in 2015.
Mr Bester, 68, pleaded guilty in the Hobart Magistrates court to the charge, having bragged and shared details of his encounters with Ms Tame on Facebook.
He was sentenced to four months in jail.
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