A Queensland man has been jailed for 12 years for encouraging a US woman to film her own son while she sexually abused him.
Gavin Leigh Melide, 30, of Morayfield, appeared in Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday for sentencing after pleading guilty to eight counts related to his interactions with a woman referred to as "Brooke" in Florida.
Copies of text messages showed Melide also shared child sexual abuse material with Brooke and they discussed plans to abuse multiple other children in the US and Queensland.
The sentence was due to be handed down on Monday but Justice Soraya Ryan adjourned it to seek more information on determining an appropriate jail term as prosecutors were unable to nominate a comparable case.
Melide was the first person to be convicted of encouraging sexual activity with a child outside Australia since mandatory minimum jail terms were introduced in 2019 for commonwealth offences involving child sexual abuse, the court was told.
Justice Ryan said on Thursday that Melide had engaged in "serious and depraved offending" through exchanging messages and videos with Brooke, including taking pictures of a three-year-old boy in Queensland and telling the woman she could abuse him.
"Your offending was committed over a short time - 10 days - but it stopped not because of you but because the police who were monitoring your conversations stopped you," Justice Ryan said.
The Queensland and Australian Federal Police Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team arrested Melide on April 15, 2021 and seized two smartphones from his home north of Brisbane after a tip-off from US authorities about people sharing child abuse material via the Kik messaging app.
Justice Ryan said the 644 days Melide had spent in custody would count as time served and noted he had displayed some "shame and remorse" but his co-operation with police had limited value.
"Once your devices were surrendered, the case against you was strong," Justice Ryan said.
"Your own typed words condemned you and revealed your depravity but you attempted to minimise it (when speaking to police)."
Melide's barrister previously said he did not have any relevant past convictions and did not personally engage in sexual contact with a child.
"He developed a relationship over the internet over a period of some months ... She initiated sexual activity with her son," the barrister said.
Justice Ryan said on Thursday that Melide's offending had caused harm to Brooke's son, another boy in Queensland and the unknown children depicted in abuse videos found on his smartphones.
"You need to be punished, your activities need to be denounced and children in the community need to be protected from you and people like you," Justice Ryan said.
"This offending was repulsive. It caused immense harm to children involved.
"The material involved violent sexual activity ... one can only imagine what the impact is on these children."
Melide will be eligible for parole after six years, including time already served, meaning he will spend at least another four years and three months in jail.
