A former Anglican pastor who asked a 14-year-old churchgoer to send him a picture after she got out of the shower has been labelled "no man of God" by the judge who sentenced him.
Brian Gibson Champness, 42, met his victim's family through church, the ACT Supreme Court heard.
Champness went to watch the girl play sport and got her personal mobile phone number.
He then began to message her, inviting her to kick around a football and go to the movies with him.
In time, his messages became more frequent, asking her to dress and do her hair a certain way.
Champness then began requesting headshots and pictures of the girl's stomach and legs.
She went to her mother in October 2018 after Champness asked her to send him pictures of herself in the mirror after taking a shower.
Champness was arrested in January and charged with a child grooming offence.
He resigned from the position as a minister with the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn when the charges were laid.
The charge was later downgraded and he pleaded guilty in the ACT Supreme Court to one count of using a carriage service to transmit indecent communication to a person under 16.
Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson on Tuesday sentenced Champness to one year in jail, to be fully suspended upon entering a two-year good behaviour order.
'Appalling breach of trust'
Before the sentence was delivered, the court heard of the severe impact the offence had on the victim and her family.
Victim impact statements tendered to the court said the family had lost trust and become suspicious of others.
The court heard Champness had blamed his actions on stress and an untreated mental health condition.
But he had expressed remorse and felt he had let the victim, the church, and his congregation down, it heard.
He was found to have good prospects of rehabilitation.
Justice Loukas-Karlsson told Champness he had committed an "appalling breach of trust".
"All these people trusted you as a family friend and pastor ministering to children," she said.
"A supposed man of God. No man of God does that.
"You must work every day of your life to become a better person and a worthwhile member of our community, which you have not been."
The judge also asked the prosecution to deliver a message the victim that she was an "impressive young girl" who had a wonderful future ahead of her.
"You will not be defined by someone else's criminal behaviour," she said of the girl.
