A Bendigo court has been reminded that possession of child abuse material is far from a victimless crime as a young Jackass Flat man is set to return to court in October to hear his punishment for crimes described as "vile", "degrading" and "deplorable"
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The court heard if the victims within the images and videos were individual cases and they had not been repeatedly "tortured", it means there were 3606 individual children who have been sexually assaulted or raped by adults.
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Riley Jason Murphy, 20, pleaded guilty to one charge of knowingly possessing the material on three of five seized devices.
Magistrate Russell Kelly told Murphy these crimes were among the "most deplorable" and "most serious matters" with which the Magistrates' Court could deal.
Remorse 'confused with regret'
Defence lawyer Karin Temperley told the court her client had sought counselling to address his offending, had not offended since and had demonstrated insight and remorse.
The police prosecutor told the court "remorse is often confused with regret".
The police prosecution told the court the community expectation or "the pub test", for what was described as possessing images of "torture", would be jail.
The court heard an aggravating feature had been the financial purchase of a bulk number of images from an overseas buyer which the police said "assists that industry's growth".
Children have 'clearly' been harmed
Magistrate Kelly told the court "clearly children are being or must have been harmed" which both the prosecution and defence agreed was the case.
"And he's made the conscious decision to put his hand in his pocket to purchase (these images)," Magistrate Kelly said.
Murphy will be assessed for a community corrections order and will receive his sentence in October.
If you or someone needs support, contact:
- Lifeline, 13 11 14
- BeyondBlue, 1300 22 4636 or beyondblue.org.au
- Headspace Bendigo, 5406 1400 headspace.org.au/
- Kids Helpline, 1800 55 1800, kidshelpline.com.au/
- ACCCE, 1800 333 000, accce.gov.au/
- Esafety, esafety.gov.au/
- If life is in danger call Triple Zero (000)
For individuals concerned about their own behaviour towards children, contact:
- Stop it Now, 1800 01 1800, stopitnow.org.au/
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Lucy Williams
Journalist with an interest in telling regional and rural stories, and covering the diverse array of topics that matter to the people of Bendigo.
Journalist with an interest in telling regional and rural stories, and covering the diverse array of topics that matter to the people of Bendigo.
