A DAYLESFORD man arrested as part of an international investigation into online child pornography was jailed for a minimum of six months yesterday.
The County Court at Ballarat heard police found 400 images and a number of movies on Geoffrey Salisbury's computer after a search of his home on December 20, 2004.
Police acted on advice that a Russian-based company was providing access to child pornography through numerous Internet websites around the world, including Australia.
The court heard 170 customers were identified in Victoria as part of an operation codenamed Operation Loden.
Salisbury, 53, received a one-year jail term, with a non-parole period of six months, after pleading guilty in Ballarat Magistrates Court on February 22 this year to one count of knowingly possessing child pornography.
His appeal was unsuccessful yesterday when Judge Tony Duckett re-imposed the orders of the magistrate.
The judge said he must take into account the impact child pornography had on the victims shown in the material.
"The serious nature of your offending, in my view, does call for an immediate term of imprisonment," he said.
The judge said downloaded images depicted young children with adults.
Crown Prosecutor David Cordy said Salisbury was interviewed at Bacchus Marsh Police Station on October 24 last year but made no comment.
Defence lawyer Alan Marshall told the court his client's professional life had been ruined because of the offending.
Since late last year, Salisbury had sold his home, his accounting business in Donald, and become increasingly introspective and anxious.
Mr Marshall said his client had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and urged the court to consider imposing a suspended sentence or intensive corrections order.
"He's able to clearly understand the problems he has caused," he said.
Mr Marshall also said Salisbury never attempted to further propagate the offending material.