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District Court 2 March 2026

R v Dowling

[2026] NSWDC 61

Sexual offences
CRIME SENTENCE POSSESS CHILD ABUSE MATERIAL

Citation: [2026] NSWDC 61
Court: District Court of New South Wales (Criminal)
Date: 2 March 2026
Judge(s): Colefax SC DCJ

Background

The offender, a 63-year-old man, was sentenced in the District Court on two principal offences: possessing child abuse material contrary to NSW law, and using a carriage service to access child abuse material on three or more occasions involving two or more people contrary to Commonwealth law.

The offending was discovered after NSW Police identified the offender's email and IP addresses in connection with a Zoom "meeting" on 20 April 2023, the purpose of which was the broadcast of child abuse material to participants while they engaged in acts of masturbation. The meeting's password was a reference to its paedophilic purpose, and an officer from the Child Exploitation Internet Unit was present for part of the session. When police executed a search on 14 September 2023, they found 1,049 videos and 48 images of child abuse material across three data storage devices, as well as 370 videos of bestiality material on two devices. Police also discovered three screen-recordings showing the offender participating in similar Zoom meetings on separate occasions.

The offender was arrested and granted bail on 14 September 2023. He subsequently attempted suicide twice — first on 28 September 2023 and again on 28 May 2025, the day before a scheduled sentence hearing. After his second attempt, he absconded from court, later describing himself as having "gone on the run" with plans to take his own life before being recaptured. He was re-arrested on 8 July 2025 and remained in continuous custody from that date. Two additional offences — possessing bestiality material and possessing child abuse material obtained using a carriage service — were taken into account on a Form 1 and a s 16BA certificate respectively.

  • Objective seriousness of the two principal offences: How did the nature and volume of the material, and the offender's participation in group online sessions, bear on the gravity of the offending?

  • Application of the statutory minimum sentence under s 474.24A(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth): The Commonwealth offence of using a carriage service to access child abuse material on three or more occasions involving two or more people carries a mandatory minimum imprisonment period of 7 years. What sentence was appropriate given this statutory floor?

  • Subjective circumstances and mitigating factors: What weight should be given to the offender's mental health (including suicide attempts, substance use disorders, and psychiatric treatment), his lack of prior criminal history, and the forensic psychiatric evidence regarding the nexus between substance abuse, compulsive pornography use, and the offending?

  • The Form 1 and s 16BA schedule matters: What uplift to the sentences for the principal offences was required to account for the additional offences taken into account?

  • Prospects of rehabilitation: Given the offender's engagement with, and then apparent disengagement from, psychiatric treatment, what weight could be placed on rehabilitation?

Decision

The Court assessed each principal offence as falling "slightly above the mid-range of objective seriousness" for an offence of its type, and characterised each as "a very serious example of that type of offending." The Court accepted the Crown's submissions on this assessment. The matters on the Form 1 and the s 16BA certificate were found to require a "meaningful increase" in the sentence for their respective principal offences.

In addressing the offender's subjective circumstances, the Court had regard to a detailed forensic psychiatric report from Dr O'Dea, who had treated the offender over 14 consultations between December 2023 and October 2024. Dr O'Dea diagnosed the offender with amphetamine and cannabis use disorders and noted that his compulsive access to increasingly extreme internet pornography — facilitated by substance abuse and disinhibition — pointed to homosexual paedophilic and bestiality components to his sexuality, though Dr O'Dea observed these may have been "unmasked" by internet pornography use and amphetamine use rather than reflecting a strong pre-existing orientation. Dr O'Dea noted the risk of progression to "hands-on" offending against children remained "unclear and unquantified" but warranted ongoing psychiatric management.

The Court noted, however, that despite Dr O'Dea's proposed ongoing treatment program, there was no evidence the offender had complied with further consultations after late 2024. Combined with the offender's absconding from court in mid-2025, this appears to have limited the weight the Court could place on rehabilitation.

The judgment text as available does not set out the precise sentences imposed. However, it is clear that the Commonwealth offence (sequence 7) attracted the statutory minimum period of imprisonment of 7 years, which served as the sentencing floor. The Court's characterisation of the offences as above mid-range and "very serious" suggests the ultimate sentences were substantial, particularly for the Commonwealth offence with its 30-year maximum.

Orders Made

  • The offender was sentenced on the two principal offences (sequence 4 under NSW law and sequence 7 under Commonwealth law).
  • One Form 1 matter (sequence 5, possessing bestiality material) was taken into account in sentencing for sequence 4.
  • One s 16BA schedule matter (sequence 6, possessing child abuse material obtained using a carriage service) was taken into account in sentencing for sequence 7.

Note: The precise terms of imprisonment and non-parole periods are not available from the truncated judgment text.

Key Takeaways

  • Section 474.24A(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth) imposes a mandatory minimum imprisonment term of 7 years where the offending involves accessing child abuse material on three or more occasions involving two or more people, substantially constraining sentencing discretion.

  • The District Court treated the offender's active participation in Zoom meetings, where participants broadcast child abuse material while engaging in sexual acts, as a serious form of offending that was distinguishable from passive possession alone and elevated the overall seriousness of the conduct.

  • Forensic psychiatric evidence regarding the recognised clinical phenomenon of older males escalating to more extreme internet pornography, particularly in the context of substance abuse, was considered but did not operate to substantially mitigate the sentence.

  • Where an offender's engagement with psychiatric treatment ceases and the offender absconds from bail before sentencing, the mitigatory weight that a court can afford to treatment efforts is significantly limited, as ongoing demonstrable engagement with treatment is relevant to the subjective case.

  • The offender's decision to abscond from bail, resulting in re-arrest and continuous custody, was weighed against him and foreclosed any prospect of a more lenient sentencing outcome.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation:
- Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), s 91H(2) — possess child abuse material
- Criminal Code (Cth), s 474.24A(1) — use carriage service to access child abuse material on three or more occasions involving two or more people
- Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), Form 1 procedure (implied)
- Crimes Act 1914 (Cth), s 16BA — schedule of additional Commonwealth offences to be taken into account

Cases cited: None stated in the judgment.