AI-generated summaries. Not legal advice. Always verify against the official judgment on NSW Caselaw.
← All decisions
District Court 15 July 2025

R v Loo

[2025] NSWDC 267

Sexual offences

Citation: R v Loo [2025] NSWDC 267
Court: District Court of New South Wales
Date: 15 July 2025
Judge: Fitzsimmons SC DCJ

Background

The offender pleaded guilty to two Commonwealth offences and one NSW offence arising from police investigations into child abuse material. In May 2024, investigators detected an IP address downloading and transmitting child abuse material, which was traced to an NBN account at a residential address in Campsie. A search warrant was executed on 30 May 2024, and the offender was subsequently arrested at his workplace.

Police seized nine electronic devices belonging to the offender, including mobile phones, a laptop, and multiple hard drives and storage devices. Forensic analysis revealed an extraordinarily large volume of child abuse material: over 13,800 videos and more than 2,300 images, the overwhelming majority classified as Category 1 under the Australian Child Abuse Categorisation Schema. Category 1 material depicts real pre-pubescent children involved in sex acts or with a sexual focus on their genitalia. The material spanned children as young as under two years of age, with the youngest victim in some files appearing to be approximately five years old.

The offender had accessed the material using a standard web browser, a peer-to-peer torrent application (BitComet), and an encrypted cloud storage application (Terabox), visiting 262 websites containing child abuse material and accessing over 3,300 torrent links between March and May 2024. A separate charge of possessing bestiality material under the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) was also proven.

  • The appropriate aggregate sentence for two Commonwealth child abuse material offences (using a carriage service to access and to possess child abuse material), each carrying a maximum of 15 years imprisonment
  • The applicable sentencing framework for federal offenders sentenced in a State court, including the operation of the recognisance release order mechanism under s 20(1)(b) of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth)
  • The appropriate sentence for the NSW bestiality material offence, which carries a maximum penalty of 3 years imprisonment
  • Whether the sentence should reflect relevant mitigating factors, including the guilty plea and any psychological evidence tendered on behalf of the offender

Decision

The District Court sentenced the offender on the two Commonwealth offences using an aggregate sentence under s 53A of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW). The scale and nature of the material were central to the court's assessment of objective seriousness. The volume of Category 1 material, the very young ages of the children depicted, the use of multiple devices and applications to access and store the material over a sustained period, and the active use of a peer-to-peer torrent application at the time of the warrant's execution all bore significantly on the sentencing exercise.

The court imposed an aggregate term of 26 months imprisonment for the two Commonwealth offences, backdated to commence on 29 May 2024 (the date of arrest). Pursuant to s 20(1)(b) of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth), the court made a recognisance release order directing the offender's release after serving 18 months, on 28 November 2025. The recognisance was set at $100 without security, with the offender required to be of good behaviour for the remaining 8-month period and to comply with supervision and treatment conditions.

For the NSW bestiality material offence (Sequence 15), the court imposed a Community Correction Order for two years under s 8 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), with supervision, rehabilitation, and psychological treatment conditions attached.

A forfeiture order was also made under s 23ZD of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth), with nine electronic devices and storage media forfeited to the Commonwealth on application by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Orders Made

  • Sequences 1 and 2 (Commonwealth offences): Aggregate term of imprisonment of 26 months, commencing 29 May 2024 and expiring 28 July 2026, pursuant to s 53A of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW)
  • Recognisance release order: Pursuant to s 20(1)(b) of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth), the offender is to be released after serving 18 months (on 28 November 2025) upon giving surety of $100 without security, subject to:
  • Good behaviour for 8 months until 28 July 2026
  • Supervision by a probation officer
  • Compliance with all reasonable directions of the probation officer
  • No interstate or overseas travel without written permission of the probation officer
  • Participation in treatment and rehabilitation programs as directed
  • Sequence 15 (NSW bestiality material offence): Community Correction Order for 2 years pursuant to s 8 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), with standard conditions plus:
  • Supervision by and compliance with directions of Community Corrections
  • Assessment for recidivist risk minimisation measures including internet use restrictions
  • Referral for individual psychological treatment
  • Forfeiture: Nine specified devices and storage items forfeited to the Commonwealth pursuant to s 23ZD of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth), including the Toshiba laptop, multiple hard drives, mobile phones, and storage devices

Key Takeaways

  • The District Court applied the federal sentencing framework under the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth), including the recognisance release order mechanism, when sentencing a State court offender for Commonwealth child abuse material offences alongside a NSW state charge.
  • Volume of material and age of victims depicted are prominent factors in the objective assessment of seriousness for child abuse material offences: the presence of over 13,800 videos and 2,300 images, predominantly Category 1, involving very young children significantly informed the sentence imposed.
  • Where an offender is convicted of both Commonwealth and NSW offences arising from the same factual matrix, different sentencing regimes and orders may apply concurrently, with imprisonment and a recognisance release order governing the Commonwealth charges while a Community Correction Order governs the State charge.
  • Forfeiture of electronic devices used in the commission of Commonwealth child abuse material offences is available under s 23ZD of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) and was ordered across all nine devices in this case.
  • A guilty plea and psychological evidence remain relevant mitigating considerations in child abuse material sentencing, though the judgment does not specify the precise weight attributed to each factor in this instance.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation
- Criminal Code (Cth), ss 474.22(1), 474.22A(1)
- Crimes Act 1914 (Cth), ss 20(1)(b), 23ZD
- Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), s 547E(2)
- Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), ss 8, 53A

Cases
- Baden v R [2020] NSWCCA 23
- Giles-Adams v R; Preca v R [2023] NSWCCA 122
- Hall v R [2021] NSWCCA 220
- McGregor v R [2024] NSWCCA 200
- Minehan v R [2010] NSWCCA 140
- R v Brown [2023] NSWDC 477
- R v Hutchinson [2018] NSWCCA 152
- R v MAK; R v MSK (2006) 167 A Crim R 159; [2006] NSWCCA 381
- RA v R [2024] NSWCCA 149