A mother has been accused of possessing child abuse material after her daughter took "creative photos of herself", a defence lawyer has said.
The mother, who is in her mid-30s and cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty to one count of aggravated possession of child exploitation material.
The charge relates to 49 images obtained by police after the woman allegedly attempted to print them at a business in Belconnen on Wednesday, May 27.
Due to a malfunction of the machinery, she was refunded her payment and left the store.
Soon after, staff at the store allegedly identified multiple child exploitation images that had failed to print, and contacted police.
The woman was arrested last week and denied bail after police stopped her vehicle in Canberra.
During the woman's second bail application in the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday, June 3, defence lawyer Peter Woodhouse argued the charge was "doomed to fail".
"The approach of the police in this matter is hard to fathom," he argued.
""[The] child took the photos of herself [using her mother's phone] for her own artistic project."
He said the contents of a police bail consideration report "should not be given a feather's worth of weight".
Mr Woodhouse told the court his client had spent five nights in jail and was kept in isolation after being threatened by inmates.
The defence lawyer argued the child exploitation material legislation was not created for "a child who takes creative pictures of herself".
"The mother, when she sees her taking naked photographs of herself, redirects her towards something else," Mr Woodhouse said.
He argued there was "nothing sexual or predatory about this matter" and the "likely autistic child" has a "passion, borderline obsession, with photography and taking those artistic photographs of herself".
A senior constable gave evidence and said 49 digital images had been obtained from the printing business.
The police officer told the court she had not seen all the photographs, but the ones she had viewed depicted a nude child.
She said one of the images showed the girl covered in red liquid "that looked like fake blood" and holding a knife while in a bathroom.
Other photographs showed the girl jumping up and down on a bed in her underwear.
The court heard the child had participated in an interview with police and told them she had taken the photographs herself.
Mr Woodhouse said the mother had told police that she believed her daughter was autistic and had sensory issues causing her not to like wearing clothes.
Prosecutor Susie Kim opposed bail on the likelihood of the woman endangering the safety and welfare of the girl.
She argued the woman had been charged with possession and had made admissions to police that she was aware of one of the photographs but did not delete it after she "forgot it was on her phone".
"There has been some variety of explanations or excuses provided by the defendant to police," Ms Kim said.
The prosecutor told the court the mother had claimed the child was with her at the Belconnen business and had tried to print the images when she walked away momentarily.
Ms Kim argued the "number of scenarios" proposed by the woman were "implausible".
Magistrate Glenn Theakston granted the woman bail and said the prosecution would have "some challenges in establishing the case".
The magistrate said that a component of the possession charge included that it was "substantially for the sexual arousal or sexual gratification for someone other than the child".
Speaking directly to the mother, Mr Theakston said "I know this process is difficult ... this will pass. I encourage you to trust the process."
The case is set to return to court next month.
ACT Policing has urged anyone with information regarding the accessing or creation of child abuse material to contact Crime Stoppers via the Crime Stoppers ACT website. Information can be provided anonymously.
