A man who sent 'filthy' videos to his estranged sister when he was under the influence of drugs has been sentenced to four months in prison.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The man, from Norlane, near Geelong, pleaded guilty in the Ballarat Magistrates' Court to a single charge relating to the messages he sent via social media on 11 October 2019.
Police prosecutor Senior Constable Giles Brown told the court the man's sister received two videos around 25 seconds long that showed an adult male masturbating.
When she looked at the profile the messages came from, the woman realised it was from her brother as the phone number listed on the profile matched his.
After reporting the messages to Ballarat Police Station, a search warrant was carried out at the man's home and his mobile was seized.
The court heard the man admitted to police he was in the videos in an interview.
"The accused admitted he had made the recording ... and his penis was depicted," Senior Constable Brown said.
"However, he did not provide a reason as to why he sent the material."
The man, who appeared via link from prison, was serving time for unrelated charges of aggravated burglary and recklessly causing injury from April 2020.
Defence for the man said the offending was "out of context with his criminal history and his demeanour generally" and at the time was leasing a property he owned in Geelong to a tenant who was trafficking drugs.
"When one looks at [the man's] criminal history this matter is of a completely different character ... it's inexplicable," the defence said.
"He instructs he was being given large amounts of drugs so they could keep trafficking out of his house ... his drug use was higher than it had been for some time."
Defence for the man said following the search of his home, he had told police in an interview 'I don't care yeah, just charge me with it,' and of the video, 'f***ing filthy mate, it was filthy s**t'.
Magistrate Ron Saines said the offending was "vile".
"Not withstanding you have no prior history with sexual offending, this is nevertheless an example of serious offending involving your sister," he said.
"You described it appropriately."
The man was sentenced to four months imprisonment, with two months to be served alongside his existing jail time, and the other two months served additionally.
He will not be placed on the sex offender registry.
Affected by this story? There is help available. You can phone the Ballarat Centre Against Sexual Assault, in Sebastopol, on 5320 3933, or free-call the crisis care line 24 hours on 1800 806 292, or phone Relationships Australia on 1300 364 277.