Child porn man freed

A TOWNSVILLE man who was busted with 1178 videos and 343 photos of child pornography saved to his computer and hard drive has avoided jail.

William John Kinsey, 52, was caught after he uploaded 42 pornographic images to a chat website in April 2013.

Kinsey pleaded guilty in Townsville District Court yesterday to two counts of possessing child exploitation material, using the internet to access it and using the internet to transmit it.

Crown prosecutor Edward Coker said an organisation flagged the uploads to police, who searched his home on October 14, 2013.

“( The possession charges) relate to a particularly significant number of videos, a significant number of what is categorised as category four videos showing penetrative sexual activity between adults and children,” he said.

Kinsey told police he had acquired the porn over eight months, since February 2013.

Mr Coker said Kinsey had shown a “willingness to make the images available to others” by posting them to a chat site, but there was no evidence he had purchased or paid for the images.

Defence barrister Scott Geeves provided a psychological report that described Kinsey as having low intellectual capacity and potentially a range of psychological conditions including post- traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, borderline personality disorder and ADHD.

“I just want to place this as strongly as I can without being overly critical – the level of simplicity, if I can use that word, with respect to Mr Kinsey is profound,” he said.

“He’s not a sophisticated fellow at all.”

Mr Geeves said Kinsey had acted out of a feeling of loneliness. He was remorseful and had not been on the internet since.

“With the benefit of hindsight and time, he’s articulated that he’s horrified and dis- gusted by ( his offending),” he said. Mr Geeves said Kinsey completed Year 12 and an associate diploma in performing arts.

He is now on a disability pension and delivers pamphlets for work.

Judge Stuart Durward said the crimes were very serious.

“The offences that you committed involve the degradation and manipulation of children in order to produce the photos or images that you accessed,” he said.

“Offences of this nature, involving child exploitation material, are not offences where there are no victims.”

The judge said there had been a significant delay in the matter coming to sentence and Kinsey had since demonstrated “empathy and insight and positive rehabilitative intentions”.

For the Commonwealth internet crimes he was sentenced to 18 months in jail and released immediately on a good behaviour bond and 18 months of probation.

For the offences of possession he was sentenced to 12 months wholly suspended.