Qld: Child porn downloader didn't realise it was a crime: court
By Christine Flatley19 Jan 2009 1:33 PM
BRISBANE, Jan 19 AAP - A father who downloaded 30,000 child pornography images and videos didn't realise it was against the law, a court has been told.
Brian Raymond Bowden, 44, was surprised when police charged him with with using a carriage service to access child pornography and knowingly possessing child pornographic material, the Brisbane District Court was told on Monday.
Prosecutor Anthony Gett said Bowden told police he knew it was a crime to abuse children, but didn't realise he was breaking the law by possessing images of such abuse.
The court was told police found almost 28,000 images of children being abused on Bowden's computer when they searched his home at Carina in Brisbane in July 2007.
Bowden also had more than 4,700 videos stored on the computer's hard drive.
Mr Gett said some of the videos and images featured babies being abused, and others featured sadistic acts and bestiality.
The court was told Bowden had downloaded the files between March 2005 and July 2007.
The father of two pleaded guilty on Monday to the charges and was sentenced to two and a half years' jail.
He will serve 10 months behind bars before being released on a good behaviour bond.
