Child video grub jailed

A GOLD Coast man who pleaded guilty to preying on almost 40 children online to make child exploitation material will be eligible for parole in less than a year.

Southport District Court Judge David Kent QC yesterday sentenced New Zealand national Cameron Alistar Conrad, 36, to a six-year sentence with a parole eligibility date after serving two years.

Conrad will be required to complete a high-intensity sexual offenders program while behind bars. The 423 days Conrad spent pre-sentence custody were counted as time already served.

He was arrested after seven months of “exploitative and predatory” offending in September, 2017.

In sentencing, Judge Kent said Conrad’s most serious offence was making child exploitation material, which carried a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

Conrad contacted victims in “roulette-style” online chat rooms where users are connected at random. He chose sites frequented by children and masturbated in front of them, instructed them to masturbate and in some cases touch each other while he recorded.

He preyed upon 37 children, aged between five and 14, between February and September last year. The children were from Russia, the Ukraine and Australia.

Conrad did not share any of the 42 videos he took. He was also caught with 1032 unique child exploitation images on two mobile phones and online storage linked to his email.

Judge Kent said in 2011 Conrad had previously been caught performing indecent acts to a person aged under 16 and was imprisoned in NSW.

When Conrad was released on parole, Judge Kent said, he travelled to Queensland where he breached his reporting obligations despite being a reportable offender.

Judge Kent said Conrad, a father of two, came to Australia aged 14 and was likely to be deported to New Zealand on his release. He said Conrad’s offending had done enormous damage to innocent children.