A Canberra man who downloaded horrific videos, including of a child being raped and murdered, has appeared before a sentencing hearing in the ACT Supreme Court.
Warning: this story contains graphic content that some readers may find upsetting.
Bradley Payne-Moore, 32, has already pleaded guilty to the downloading and possession of child abuse material, including footage showing the murder of a young girl.
He is being sentenced on two charges relating to using the internet to possess child abuse material, and today learnt he could face jail time.
The material was found when police raided Payne-Moore's Watson home in 2019. Police found 137 child abuse images and videos.
Payne-Moore initially told police he had not looked at the serious images on his computer.
But seven of those images and videos had been viewed multiple times.
So "abhorrent" were the images that initially Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson declined to view them.
Speaking to Payne-Moore in court today, Justice Loukas-Karlsson told him that he "must take this seriously".
Call for leniency after hot wax attack
Much of the material that Payne-Moore was caught with is classified as Category 4; however, the "murder" video is considered in the highest category of abuse, Category 5.
Payne-Moore's defence lawyer Andrew Fraser said that even though his client opened the video he stopped viewing it, and there is no evidence he viewed the Category 5 section.
Mr Fraser argued that some leniency should be shown in sentencing because Payne-Moore had already been punished by losing friends and his men's image consultancy business, which has folded.
He also showed the court a video from a Canberra nightclub which shows Payne-Moore being attacked with hot wax by an unknown assailant. Payne-Moore was injured in the attack and was left with "some blisters" on his hands.
But prosecutor David Bloomfield asked the court that no leniency be shown, and that only a sentence of full-time custody will be appropriate.
Justice Loukas-Karlsson told Payne-Moore there is a high possibility he will serve jail time. She will sentence him on June 23.
