A Sale man has avoided jail time after pleading guilty to using an online messaging service to request images and videos of who he thought were children.
Dean Barnes, 35, pleaded guilty to 15 charges of using a carriage service to solicit child abuse material, two of using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material, and one of possessing child abuse material.
In the Latrobe Valley County Court today, Judge John Smallwood said Barnes had good prospects for rehabilitation and had already sought professional help.
"I accept that there has been very deep shame and very deep remorse," he said.
Barnes was convicted of all charges and sentenced to 14 months in jail but was released immediately on recognisance.
'Depraved' comments
The charges related to conversations Barnes had online, mostly using the messaging platform Kik, between 1 February 2020 and 14 May 2021.
He was 32 and 33 years old at the time of the offending and the victims all presented as male children aged between 14 and 17 years.
He made a number of requests for images and videos of the victims but a prosecution summary said the age of most of the people was not clear and the content was not confirmed as child abuse material.
The charge of possessing child abuse material related to 362 files on two mobile phones, predominantly of nude teenage boys, in sexual poses or involved in sexual acts.
"In terms of the objective seriousness of the offending, I couldn't be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt — other than [for that charge] — that there is in fact a victim for any of the charges, it's your intention that you've been sentenced for," Judge Smallwood said.
Judge Smallwood said Barnes's comments in the conversations were "depraved" but he did not appear to be deliberately targeting children and made no attempts to meet up with victims.
"I accept that in this situation you're not targeting underage males … you said you had exactly the same interaction with them as you did with the adults," he said.
"The fact remains they presented as underage and there's nothing to suggest you didn't believe that."
Submissions from Barnes's counsel, Mihal Greener, cited a report from a psychiatrist that said a stimulant medication Barnes was taking for his ADHD was likely a "significant contributory factor" to the offending.
Judge Smallwood said he accepted it had "some contributory value" but not to the level put in the submissions.
"There's a difference between having hypersexuality and engaging in these sorts of conversations with people you believe to be under the age of 18 or 16 … you have plenty of adults you could live out these fantasies with, without resorting to children," Judge Smallwood said.
Barnes is also now a registered sex offender and will be subject to reporting obligations for life.
