A former SA Labor staffer viewed and became aroused by child exploitation material while he was at work, an Adelaide court has heard.
Benjamin John Waters has pleaded guilty to accessing and transmitting child abuse material using a carriage service in January 2021, as well as two counts of possessing child exploitation material in March of that year, including images and videos of children under the age of 14.
WARNING: This story contains graphic content that readers may find distressing.
The 39-year-old worked as a staffer for the state member for Hurtle Vale, Nat Cook.
He was expelled from the Labor Party in March last year after he was arrested by the South Australian Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team.
Victorian paedophile Thomas Donaldson told the South Australian District Court today that he often communicated and shared child exploitation images and videos with Waters via the app Telegram.
Waters has denied having any sexual interest or attraction to children and has previously claimed he viewed the material "under duress".
But Donaldson told the court today Waters was "sexually aroused" by the material he sent and received, even when he viewed it at work.
"He never denied he had an interest in child abuse material when he spoke to me online," Donaldson told the court.
"The nature of the conversation was essentially to be arousing and he provided a lot of indication that he was aroused by the situation and the content.
"When he wasn't at work, there would often be photos shared between the two of us showing states of arousal."
Waters denies Donaldson's claims
Donaldson — who has pleaded guilty to five child abuse offences — told the court he had agreed to cooperate with police on Waters's case because he felt it was "something he should do from a moral standpoint" and knew cooperation "would be looked on favourably".
But Waters's lawyer told the court his client denied sharing videos online with Donaldson, denied sending any images to him in "a state of arousal", denied being in chat groups with Donaldson and that Donaldson "was wrong".
Waters chose to be cross-examined in a disputed facts hearing, telling the court he felt he needed "to explain that I don't have a sexual interest in children".
"I want to make sure that it's known that not everyone who's doing this stuff has a sexual interest, and I don't," he told the court.
Waters said his offences related to taking possession of his former partner's USBs, which he suspected contained child abuse material.
'Confused' about what to do because of autism
Waters — who told the court he had autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and several mental health conditions — said he "felt obliged" to take possession of the USBs and that he later viewed the material on a USB drive which "confirmed his suspicion".
"I didn't know what to do with it; I made the stupid mistake of holding onto it and viewing it and it haunts me every day.
"One of the issues with my ASD is I get very confused about what to do.
"I have a very big problem with conflict because of my ASD and I often say yes to people when I shouldn't."
The hearing continues.
