Child porn on camera

Workmates dobbed in colleague after discovery

A HIGH-PAID government employee spent months behind bars after his colleagues found child exploitation material on a camera SD card he was using.

Former Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority international business manager Benedict Charles Palmer avoided being sent back to jail when he faced Townsville District Court on Wednesday and pleaded guilty to possessing child exploitation material.

His GBRMPA colleagues turned him in to police in September 2020 when they located a number of explicit photos and videos of children on an SD card when Palmer returned a hired company camera.

Police raided his home and found three USBS and examined a tablet. In total, Palmer had more than 500 videos depicting the abuse of prepubescent boys between eight and 15 years old.

Crown prosecutor Rana Aldas said two laptops found in the home had data that indicated they were used to view child exploitation material.

“The offending is particularly serious,” she said. “This is not a victimless crime. The videos are very graphic in nature.”

Ms Aldas said Palmer became a reportable offender in 2012 after he was sentenced for a string of offences, including using a carriage service to groom a child, multiple offences of indecent treatment of a child under 16 and involving a child in the making of child exploitation material.

Palmer messaged a 14-yearold boy on Facebook and the pair began exchanging sexual texts. Ms Aldas said Palmer sent the boy explicit photographs and encouraged the teen to take and send nude photos.

When this offending came to light, police found child exploitation material.

“As a result of today’s conviction he has exposed himself to potentially being a reportable offender for life, given his previous conviction,” Ms Aldas said.

Defence barrister Justin Greggery asked the court to impose a sentence that meant Palmer did not go back to jail.

He said Palmer began his “distinguished” career with GBRMPA in 2000 and held an “esteemed” position with good pay. The 56-year-old was terminated when he was remanded in custody and Mr Greggery said Palmer was now unemployable in the commonwealth public service after an internal investigation.

Mr Greggery said after losing his job Palmer would lose future superannuation benefits of more than $500,000.

“There has been a significant loss both in terms of employment and in terms of superannuation,” he said.

Palmer was given two years’ jail, with the 197 days he spent in pre-sentence custody considered time already served.

The sentence was suspended and will hang over his head for five years.