A Ballarat magistrate has made a searing indictment of a depraved father's support of an international network of child abuse by collecting obscene images.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Rowan James Parkyn, 34, who had collected 200,000 child abuse images on his mobile phones and laptop, faced the Ballarat Magistrates' Court on Friday for sentencing on charges of possessing and accessing child abuse material in 2019.
Magistrate Ron Saines said the offending was serious because of its depravity and dehumanisation of the young children in the images.
They were raped, grossly misused and abused for an online market which is supported by you.
- Magistrate Ron Saines.
The court heard the classification of material showed more than 190,000 of the images were of children exposing genitals and in sexual poses.
Other images depicted children performing sexual acts with other children, sexual acts by adults upon children and children engaged in bestiality.
The children in the images were aged between three to 16-years-old.
The court heard Parkyn, from Sebastopol, had collected the material during a period of eight months before he was arrested in August 2019.
He was married, living with his wife and three young children, employed as an aged care worker and studying nursing at the time.
Police found the child abuse images on three devices, two of Parkyn's mobile phones and his laptop.
IN OTHER NEWS
This was after Parkyn's wife discovered some of the child pornography on his phone and told a friend who reported it to police.
Parkyn was arrested at his work in aged care on August 22 after his wife unlocked his mobile at home to show the images to police.
Parkyn said he downloaded the images from a website online which he had found 'accidentally' eight months earlier, during an interview with police.
He told police he found he was sexually aroused and stimulated by the images after discovering the site.
Mr Saines said the sentence imposed must convey a message of specific and general deterrence and meet sentencing principles of denunciation, punishment and rehabilitation.
Parkyn pleaded guilty to the charges on June 25 at the Ballarat Magistrates' Court, but Mr Saines recognised Parkyn's plea of guilty effectively began much earlier when he made full admissions to police and voluntarily handed over his laptop and phones.
The court heard Parkyn had no prior convictions, had a history of employment, education and a family focus.
"Since August last year when you were employed, married, living with children and engaged in education, you have lost your job, marriage and been precluded from child contact," Mr Saines said.
In his sentencing remarks, Mr Saines said he must consider Parkyn's diagnosis of a mental health problem and COVID-19 restrictions that make prison more onerous.
The offending has brought you great loss, shame and depression. I take these consequences into account.
Parkyn was sentenced to five months imprisonment followed by a two year community corrections order upon his release.
Parkyn will be subject to the sex offenders registration's 'onerous' requirements for eight years.
He will be required to engage in sex offenders programs and supervision during the period of the community corrections order.
Mr Saines indicated if not for his plea of guilty, he would have sentenced Parkyn to 10 months imprisonment.
If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.
