Man avoids jail on child porn charges

A YOUNG man was caught out by police after downloading hundreds of pornographic images and videos showing children being abused on to his computer and USB.

The court heard on February 7, 2018, police became aware Jade Mical Richardson then 22 years old had been downloading child exploitation material.

On March 22, 2018, the police executed a search warrant on Richardson’s home where he admitted he was in possession of the material, allowing officers to locate the files on his computer and a USB.

The court heard there were 130 unique videos many of which were defined as category 4, which means penetrative sexual activity between children and children.

There were 85 accessible videos after Richardson had deleted the rest, with more than half of the available files classed as category 4.

There were 429 accessible images of child pornography, with most defined as category 1 and 2, which includes sexual acts between children only with no part of the body being penetrated and activity involving adults with no penetration.

Richardson was sentenced to 15 months jail suspended for two years, and was released on $2000 recognisance when he faced Townsville District Court for charges of possessing child exploitation material and using a carriage service to access child pornography.

Defence barrister Scott Geeves said Richardson now or adults 23, lacked emotional intelligence but had reflected upon his offending and how it would have impacted the children being exploited.

“He appears before your honour this morning with his head held low, as it should be. It’s an insidious trade concerning the possession of such materials,” he said.

“He’s deeply ashamed also because he’s a young fella of some level of intelligence … he certainly hasn’t engaged his brain when making these decisions.”

Judge Douglas Mcgill SC said there needed to be general deterrence among the community.

“The police have become very good at detecting people who are involved in offending of this kind,” Judge Mcgill said.

Convictions were recorded.