Jessie Peter Hanley, 38, of Mooroopna, pleaded guilty in the Shepparton County Court to using a carriage service to access child abuse material, possessing child abuse material and a summary charge of possessing a prohibited weapon.
Prosecutor Andrew Morrison told the court Hanley accessed seven child abuse images sent by his co-accused on Facebook Messenger between November 13 and 15, 2023.
Mr Morrison also said police found two phones and two extendable batons while searching Hanley’s Mooroopna home on May 9, 2024.
There were a total of 46 files of child abuse material on both of the phones, some of which were computer-generated images.
Hanley told police he had the extendable batons for “protection” due to “rising crime rates in the area”.
Hanley’s defence barrister Glenn Casement said his client had a background of “neglect, abuse and abandonment”.
He told the court Hanley had psychological difficulties, and acknowledged using Facebook Messenger showed a lack of sophistication.
He said Hanley was a “man whose life has been spun into a disarray since offending” and was in a state of uncertainty about his future but realistic about his circumstances.
Mr Casement told the court Hanley showed excellent prospects of rehabilitation, and had since gone to a GP to get a mental health plan.
Judge Daniel Holding said the child abuse material Hanley possessed was “abhorrent” and “disgusting”.
“Just by looking at it creates a market,” he said.
He said “there’s not really any assessment as to why” Healey possessed and accessed the child abuse material.
“He’s got child pornography on his devices, (but) there’s no explanation as to why they’re there,” Judge Holding said.
“(It’s a) myth to me what’s the underlying problem.”
Hanley will be sentenced in July.
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