Suicide attempt delays sentence hearing

A WONGA Beach man convicted of possessing literature depicting the rapes of pre teens has tried to kill himself while in custody.

Geoffrey Keith Gotts was convicted this week of knowingly possessing child exploitation material and was due to be sentenced in Cairns District Court yesterday.

Barrister Peter Feeney and lawyer Derek Perkins appeared for Gotts – Mr Feeney told the court their client was not in a state to be sentenced.

A court liaison officer from Queensland Health told Judge Tracy Fantin that Gotts had attempted suicide overnight while in the watch house and that he was still considered “a high risk”.

Mr Feeney applied for an adjournment to have Gotts assessed. “It is important that I do seek an adjournment to allow the proper investigations to be made,” Mr Feeney said.

Judge Fantin agreed and adjourned the sentence to a date to be confirmed, so Gotts’ mental health could be assessed.

In February 2017, police searched Gotts’ laptop and found it to contain 16 written stories involving sexual violence against children. One of the stories, called “Archery Club”, contained a warning that “the following is a written work of erotic fiction depicting the … multiple torture rapes of a pre-teen girl”.

Having dismissed his own legal team on day one of the trial, Gotts argued his own case over three days and examined his own wife and son before making a no-case application to Judge Fantin.

The jury rejected his defence and convicted him after deliberating for two hours. If you or someone you know needs help, contact Lifeline on 131 114 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.