The offence of knowingly possessing child exploitation material under s 228D of the Criminal Code 1899 (Qld) should not be equated with actual indecent treatment of children for sentencing purposes, and the principle that imprisonment is a sentence of last resort under s 9(2)(a) of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld) applies to such offences. A fully suspended sentence may be appropriate even where the material includes the worst category of images, particularly where the offender has voluntarily disposed of the material before detection. Where the Crown Prosecutor does not oppose a fully suspended sentence at first instance, the Attorney-General faces a significant obstacle in contending on appeal that actual custody was required.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 14 later cases that cite this judgment.
3 of the 14 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.