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District Court 8 October 2026

R v MM

[2026] NSWDC 372

Sexual offences
CRIME CHILD SEX OFFENCES CHILD ABUSE MATERIAL POSSESSION POSSESSION OF BESTIALITY MATERIAL

Citation: R v MM [2026] NSWDC 372
Court: District Court of New South Wales
Date: 8 October 2026
Judge: Fitzsimmons SC DCJ

Background

Police executed a search warrant at the offender's home on 4 August 2025. They located multiple devices, including a laptop displaying conversations in which the offender appeared to request child abuse material, and a mobile phone containing a hidden, password-protected application used to store videos.

From the mobile phone, police identified at least 139 videos (from a random sample of 800) as Category 1 or Category 2 child abuse material under the Interpol Classification, with an estimated 600 of 3,418 videos in the folder falling within those categories. Police also located 12 videos depicting bestiality among a larger collection reviewed on the same device.

The offender pleaded guilty at Wollongong Local Court on 22 April 2026 to one count of possessing child abuse material under s 91H(2) of the Crimes Act 1900 and one count of possessing bestiality material under s 547E(2) of the same Act. The sentencing judge heard extensive subjective material, including reports from the offender's long-term general practitioner and two psychologists, documenting severe childhood trauma, significant mental health conditions, and a difficult personal history.

Legal Issues

  • What was the appropriate assessment of objective seriousness for each offence?
  • Did the offender's mental health history and childhood deprivation reduce his moral culpability, and if so, to what extent?
  • Was the threshold for full-time imprisonment under s 5 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 crossed for each offence?
  • Were special circumstances established to justify a variation from the standard non-parole period ratio?
  • What sentence was appropriate for each offence, having regard to all sentencing considerations?

Decision

Issue 1: Objective seriousness of the child abuse material offence

The court assessed the child abuse material offending as falling towards the mid-range of objective seriousness for offences of this type (at [44]). Factors contributing to seriousness included the large volume of material (at least 139 identified videos and an estimated 600 in the relevant folder), the serious content involving very young children engaged in sexual acts with adults, and the degree of organisation involved in storing files within a secure, password-protected application (at [43]). Mitigating the objective assessment was the absence of evidence that the material was possessed for dissemination or profit, or that the offender was responsible for its creation (at [43]).

Issue 2: Objective seriousness of the bestiality material offence

The court found the bestiality material offending reflected a less serious example of the range of offending contemplated by the provision (at [45]). The collection comprised 12 videos, significantly smaller in volume than the child abuse material, though the content remained significant (at [45]).

Issue 3: Moral culpability, mental health, and childhood deprivation

The court accepted that the offender suffered from PTSD, depression, and ADHD at the time of the offending, against a background of multiple suicide attempts and severe childhood trauma (at [51]). His mother subjected him to abuse, leading to his removal from her care at age six. He subsequently experienced neglect under his father's care, was homeless as a teenager, and turned to illicit substances in response to these adversities (at [49]-[50]). The court found the offender's mental health disorders played a role of some significance in the offending, reducing his moral culpability and the weight to be afforded to punishment and deterrence, applying DC v R [2023] NSWCCA 82 (at [52]). The court further accepted, applying Bugmy v The Queen (2013) 249 CLR 571 and Hoskins v R [2021] NSWCCA 169, that profound childhood deprivation provided a further basis to reduce moral culpability (at [54]).

Notwithstanding the reduced culpability, the court found that deterrence retained some role given the nature of child abuse material offending. Drawing on Lazarus v R [2023] NSWCCA 214, the court noted the public interest in stifling demand for such material, which directly feeds its production and the exploitation of children (at [55]).

Issue 4: Section 5 threshold and sentencing outcomes

The court was satisfied the s 5 threshold for full-time imprisonment was crossed for the child abuse material offence (at [59]). For the bestiality offence, however, the court was not satisfied the threshold was crossed, having regard to the lower objective seriousness, the maximum penalty, and the offender's subjective case. The court also noted that a Community Correction Order would better support rehabilitation and reduce the risk of reoffending (at [62]).

The court identified special circumstances, primarily because the offender's significant mental health needs could not be adequately addressed in custody. Appropriate community-based treatment, including sexual offender treatment proposed by the assessing psychologist, was more readily available outside the custodial environment (at [63]). The sentence for the child abuse material offence was reduced by 25% for the utilitarian value of the guilty plea, from a pre-discount sentence of 2 years 6 months to 1 year 10 months (at [47], [64]). The non-parole period was set at 1 year 1 month, with the sentence backdated to account for 1 year, 1 month and 26 days already served in custody, making the offender eligible for immediate release on parole (at [64]-[66]).

Orders Made

  • The offender was convicted of both offences (sequences 1 and 2).
  • Sequence 1 (possession of child abuse material): sentenced to imprisonment for 1 year 10 months commencing 13 August 2025 and expiring 12 June 2027, with a non-parole period of 1 year 1 month expiring 12 September 2026. The offender is eligible to be released on parole forthwith.
  • Sequence 2 (possession of bestiality material): Community Correction Order for 2 years, with standard conditions plus supervision by a Community Corrections Officer, compliance with treatment directions from nominated treating practitioners (general practitioner and two psychologists), compliance with Corrective Services intervention programs, and abstention from alcohol and non-prescribed drugs subject to random testing.
  • Non-publication order prohibiting disclosure of information tending to reveal the offender's identity (s 7, Court Suppression and Non-Publication Orders Act 2010).
  • The offender is a registerable person under the Child Protection (Offenders Registration) Act 2000 for 8 years, commencing 8 October 2026 and expiring 7 October 2034.
  • Registry directed to provide copies of the Registerable Person Order and Form 3 Document to the offender, the NSW Commissioner of Police, and the offender's supervising authority.

Key Takeaways

  • The District Court confirmed that a large volume of Category 1 and 2 child abuse material stored in a secure, hidden application, without evidence of dissemination or profit, falls towards the mid-range of objective seriousness for possession offences of this type (at [43]-[44]).
  • Where an offender's diagnosed mental health conditions (including PTSD, depression, and ADHD) and a history of profound childhood deprivation are causally linked to the offending, both factors can reduce moral culpability and lessen the weight given to punishment and deterrence, even where deterrence retains some relevance to child abuse material offences (at [52], [54]-[55]).
  • The s 5 threshold for full-time imprisonment is not automatically crossed for possession of bestiality material: the court assessed that threshold separately for each offence, and found it was not crossed for the bestiality charge given the lower objective seriousness and the strength of the offender's subjective case (at [59]-[62]).
  • Special circumstances can be established where the custodial environment is demonstrably unable to provide an offender's required mental health treatment, justifying a significant departure from the standard non-parole period ratio in favour of extended supervised release (at [63]).
  • Applying Lazarus v R [2023] NSWCCA 214, general deterrence retains a role in sentencing for child abuse material possession because reducing demand for such material directly serves the public interest in protecting children from exploitation, even where an offender's personal culpability is diminished (at [55]).

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation
- Crimes Act 1900 ss 91 H(2), 547E (2)
- Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 s 5
- Court Suppression and Non-Publication Orders Act 2010, s 7
- Child Protection (Offenders Registration) Act 2000, s 3C

Cases
- R v Hutchinson [2018] NSWCCA 152
- Giles-Adam v R; Preca v R [2023] NSWCCA 122
- DC v R [2023] NSWCCA 82
- Bugmy v The Queen (2013) 249 CLR 571
- Hoskins v R [2021] NSWCCA 169
- Lazarus v R [2023] NSWCCA 214
- West, Trent v R [2017] NSWCCA 271
- R v Way (2004) 60 NSWLR 168
- O’Connor v The Queen (1986) 23 A Crim R 50