- Cop with child porn gets one month in jail
- News.com.au
- 01/04/2009 Make a Comment
- Contributed by: The Rooster ( 258 articles in 2009 )
A FORMER Darwin police officer will spend one month in prison after being caught with more than 500 images of child pornography.
Brendan Hair, 41, had stashed the child abuse material in his police locker and desk, as well as under his bed in a safe at the Northern Territory police headquarters.
There were nine videos among the 558 images of child abuse, three of which were considered to be in the worst category of offending.
The images - ranging from fully clothed children to children engaged in sexual acts with adults - were discovered following a tip-off during raids in March and April 2007.
Sentencing the father of one in the NT Supreme Court in Darwin, Justice Dean Mildren said he had taken into account the quality of the images, the ages of the children and the motives for possession. He accepted that an incident in 1995, in which Hair and his partner were shot at and his partner critically injured, had been "life changing".
Justice Mildren said the former cop, who was born in Perth, now suffered from post traumatic stress, manifesting in suicidal tendencies and anxiety. The judge accepted the illness was partly responsible for the offending, which could be seen as "a search for emotional satisfaction" rather than a genuine sexual interest in children.
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"He has lost his career, which to him was of considerable importance," he said of Hair, who has an award for bravery.
The former cop was also driven out of a small country town, where he had managed to find work, after an email campaign outed his offence.
But although Justice Mildren found the offending to be at the lower end of the scale, he said the crime "was not victimless".
"The duty of the sentencer is to protect children," he said.
"The evidence does not persuade me that his illness was the only reason for his offending, although I accept it was a factor.
"I am unable to understand why he did not destroy them (the images)."
The court heard Hair only looked at the images once.
Justice Mildren sentenced Hair - who pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child abuse material last week - to eight months in prison.
This will be suspended after one month is served.
Hair must receive psychiatric treatment for as long as his psychiatrist believes it is necessary.
Brendan Hair, 41, had stashed the child abuse material in his police locker and desk, as well as under his bed in a safe at the Northern Territory police headquarters.
There were nine videos among the 558 images of child abuse, three of which were considered to be in the worst category of offending.
The images - ranging from fully clothed children to children engaged in sexual acts with adults - were discovered following a tip-off during raids in March and April 2007.
Sentencing the father of one in the NT Supreme Court in Darwin, Justice Dean Mildren said he had taken into account the quality of the images, the ages of the children and the motives for possession. He accepted that an incident in 1995, in which Hair and his partner were shot at and his partner critically injured, had been "life changing".
Justice Mildren said the former cop, who was born in Perth, now suffered from post traumatic stress, manifesting in suicidal tendencies and anxiety. The judge accepted the illness was partly responsible for the offending, which could be seen as "a search for emotional satisfaction" rather than a genuine sexual interest in children.
Related Coverage
* Readers' Comments: WA man jailed for child porn - PerthNowPerth Now,
* Computer: Stress 'caused cop to use child porn'NEWS.com.au, 30 Mar 2009
* Music teacher jailed over child pornNEWS.com.au, 3 Dec 2008
* Teacher 'in love with child'Perth Now, 31 Oct 2008
* Black and white justice in killer's sentenceNEWS.com.au, 27 Aug 2008
"He has lost his career, which to him was of considerable importance," he said of Hair, who has an award for bravery.
The former cop was also driven out of a small country town, where he had managed to find work, after an email campaign outed his offence.
But although Justice Mildren found the offending to be at the lower end of the scale, he said the crime "was not victimless".
"The duty of the sentencer is to protect children," he said.
"The evidence does not persuade me that his illness was the only reason for his offending, although I accept it was a factor.
"I am unable to understand why he did not destroy them (the images)."
The court heard Hair only looked at the images once.
Justice Mildren sentenced Hair - who pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child abuse material last week - to eight months in prison.
This will be suspended after one month is served.
Hair must receive psychiatric treatment for as long as his psychiatrist believes it is necessary.
Source: https://www.news.com.au/story/0,,25274435-17001,00.html
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