Man's possession of 'abhorrent' child abuse files a 'wicked kind of depravity': judge

A 67-year-old man who possessed more than 400 "abhorrent" child abuse files committed a "wicked kind of depravity", the territory's top judge has said.

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Ian Gregory Beale was sentenced in the ACT Supreme Court to four years in jail, with a three-year non-parole period making him eligible for release in October 2029.

He had previously pleaded guilty to three charges of using a carriage service to access, possess, and transmit child abuse material.

When sentencing the 67-year-old on Wednesday, October 21, Chief Justice Lucy McCallum issued multiple content warnings before detailing some of the material found in his possession.

"The descriptions of the files are plainly relevant to the assessment of the objective seriousness of the offences," the judge said.

"That material is so abhorrent that I was initially minded not to include any detail of it in this judgment.

"However, during the process of writing, I have come to the conclusion that some description of the material the offender accessed is necessary to explain why I regard his offending to be so serious and his complete lack of remorse ... so troubling."

Chief Justice McCallum said Beale possessed 469 files depicting children aged between six months and 15 years being subjected to "highly depraved" abuse and "acts of cruelty".

The ACT Supreme Court, where the man was sentenced. Picture by Sitthixay Ditthavong

While it was previously submitted to the court that at least eight children were depicted in the videos and images, the judge found the true figure was "significantly more".

"It beggars belief that over the whole 469 files, there were only eight separate victims," she said.

Chief Justice McCallum said Beale also used the messaging app Kik to communicate with three people, including someone he believed was a 15-year-old girl.

During those exchanges, he sent and received child abuse material.

"While I have not included those exchanges in this judgment, I have, of course, read them," Chief Justice McCallum said of the messages sent to the 15-year-old girl.

"They are thoroughly disgusting. I say that not to be emotive, but to give an indication of the gravity of the offending."

She also said that in two of the online conversations, Beale "pretended he was an adult woman interested in sexual engagement with children".

"There is an aspect of manipulation in that pretence which aggravates the seriousness of the offence."

Chief Justice McCallum said she was unpersuaded that Beale felt any remorse or exhibited any meaningful insight into his offending.

The court heard that when police found the child abuse material on Beale's devices, he claimed he had been hacked years earlier and denied possessing the material or having any knowledge of the Kik account.

He told officers the app was already installed on the device when he bought it.

When asked why the app shared the same password he used for other accounts, he said: "I'm guessing ... someone has set it up knowing my standard password and whatever else, that's all I can think of."

The Chief Justice said his explanations "must have been a lie" given his subsequent guilty pleas.

"What is more troubling is that he appears to have maintained the lie even after pleading guilty," she said.

The judge added that Beale had continued to "minimise his offending" during pre-sentence assessments.

She found that a "stern sentence" was necessary to reflect both the severity of his actions and his lack of remorse.

"Every file that depicts the sexual abuse of a child as a form of entertainment fit for consumption on the internet is a wicked kind of depravity," she said.

• Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; 1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732; Canberra Rape Crisis Centre 6247 2525; Bravehearts 1800 272 831; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; Blue Knot Foundation 1300 657 380.

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