An Albany man has been jailed for a string of child sex offences involving grooming and the accumulation of exploitation material over many years.
Stephen Van Der Ros pleaded guilty to six charges involving four children under 13, possessing child exploitation material and attempting to groom young girls while posing as a teenager on the internet.
The 32-year-old traffic control worker was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison, backdated to when detectives arrested him last November.
Judge Gillian Braddock said police had discovered more than 1,000 videos and 17,000 still images on Van De Ros's phone.
According to interview records, Van Der Ross immediately confessed to all the charges.
He told detectives he had been accumulating the child exploitation material over 17 years and he was glad he had been caught.
Judge Braddock said he had a paedophilic disorder and would be at serious risk of reoffending as he would be unable to control himself.
She said his offences were "very serious" and he had moved out of the online pornographic fantasy world to involving the lives of young girls that would have long-term effects.
Appearing via video link from Albany Prison, Van Der Ros did not react when he learnt of his sentence.
Judge Braddock said she wanted to send a message that his behaviour was not something to be imitated and the sentence was required to protect the community.
Van Der Ros will be eligible for parole after four years.
