Using carriage service to access child pornography

A search warrant was executed on our client’s home by Police. They located and seized three devices which contained child exploitation images and videos. In total, there was over 60 movies and over 300 images located. The Police also discovered various search terms consistent with searching for child exploitation material.

Our client had previously been convicted of like offending over a decade earlier and received a good behaviour bond. From the outset, we encouraged our client to re-engage with his psychologist to address the underlying issues behind his offending behaviour. He commenced counselling shortly after being charged and continued that counselling through to the finalisation of his matter, with a view to continuing the counselling after his sentence hearing.

In preparation for his plea of guilty, we obtained a pre-sentence report from a forensic psychologist as well as a report from his treating psychologist. These reports outlined his personal background, details of his diagnosis of various mental health conditions, psychological testing results and conclusions as to how his conditions were relevant to the offending, as well as details of the treatment he had undertaken since being charged and the evidence of his remorse and insight into his offending behaviours. He also provided character references from his family members who had been supporting him and could discuss the changes they had noticed in him since being charged.

Ultimately, we urged the Court to impose a penalty that allowed our client to remain within the community, so that he could continue his efforts of rehabilitation in a supportive environment.

The Court accepted our submissions and sentenced our client to 2 years’ probation and 12 months imprisonment, with immediate release, conditioned that he gave security by recognisance in the sum of $500 that he be of good behaviour for a period of 2 years. In other words, in addition to being subject to the supervision of probation for the next two years, he also had one year of prison hanging over his head. Provided he complies with the orders and does not commit any further offences, he will not be required to serve any time in prison.

WARNING:

This is a summary of an actual case. Details have been omitted to protect the privacy of our client. We select cases which are informative and no guarantee is provided that similar results are achievable in all cases. Every case is different and you should obtain legal advice specific to your matter and circumstances.