Donnybrook man Isaac Samuel Smith avoids jail for possessing explicit images mainly of cartoon children

A 20-year-old Donnybrook man has avoided jail for possessing hundreds of explicit images that primarily comprised cartoon depictions of young children in various stages of nudity. Isaac Samuel Smith appeared in Bunbury District Court on Tuesday where he was sentenced to a 12-month jail term that was conditionally suspended for 12 months after pleading guilty to two counts of possessing child exploitation material. The court was told police conducted a search of Smith’s home during the morning of May 23 in 2020, where Smith told officers he “knew what the search was about”. Police seized a desktop computer, two hard drives and a Samsung smartphone, which Smith declared he used to find child exploitation material. An analysis of the devices uncovered hundreds of images mainly comprising cartoon depictions of children in various stages of nudity or posed in a sexual manner. The phone was also found to have contained a number of photographs of children in various stages of nudity and a limited number of photographs depicting young children engaging in sexual behaviour. Smith also said he would on occasion set his VPN to Japan and Germany to search for additional material. Almost a year later when Smith was arrested, he declared during the police interview he also used a laptop to access child exploitation material, which was then handed over to police. The laptop was found to have contained a further 100 images of cartoon children. Smith also told police he would regularly search for the images, saving a bundle of them at a time to the desktop of the computer for him to view later and eventually delete. In submissions, the court was told Smith was dealing with a number of “complex” mental health issues and did not understand the social consequences of possessing child exploitation material and the harm it caused to vulnerable children. However, Smith had since undergone counselling and developed a better understanding of the harm caused by child exploitation material and no longer had the desire to seek out those images. A psychological report submitted to the court found Smith was “extremely emotionally immature” at the time of offending. In sentencing, District Court Judge Stephen Lemonis noted Smith’s offending behaviour was a pattern that went on for a period of two years and warned that possessing child exploitation material was “not a victimless crime” and possessing such material encouraged its continued production. However, Judge Lemonis acknowledged Smith’s co-operation with police, his young age and Smith’s remorse, and deemed that his continued rehabilitation was best served within the community.