A disgraced former sports director at Sydney's Knox Grammar who has pleaded guilty to possessing thousands of child abuse photos told police he was "ashamed" and would "cop the punishment".
Nicholas Warby's stash of more than 3,400 photos and videos, stored on multiple devices, was discovered after he accidentally left his phone at a pool in August 2019.
The 31-year-old will be sentenced in September for possessing child abuse material and drugs after pleading guilty in April.
None of the material related to Knox students, the school has previously reassured parents.
Court documents reveal Warby used a fake Instagram account to trawl through photos of boys in swimwear, downloaded swimming videos from YouTube and used fake email addresses.
Dropbox links from group chats provided much of the material, while two USB devices containing thousands of images and videos were also given to him by a man named "Jay" from Cronulla, who he met on the hook-up app Grindr.
He admitted the graphic videos — many of which involved the sexual abuse of prepubescent boys and, in some cases, even babies under two — were "absolutely awful".
But Warby also insisted the material was for "private purposes" and he didn't forward it on to anyone else.
"I've done wrong," he told police in an interview, according to the agreed facts.
"I'm ashamed and I'm going to cop the punishment that comes with it."
A school employee who found the lost phone went through its contents, trying to find the owner, and discovered at least 26 child abuse images.
Police then searched Warby's car and Bayview home and found thousands of other photos and videos stored on two separate phones and the USB sticks.
There was also a small amount of methamphetamine and a vial of GHB in his car.
In a letter sent after Warby's arrest, Knox headmaster Scott James reassured parents the school operated with a "gold standard for the protection of those in our care".
Warby faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
