Our team represented a 20 year old man in the Beenleigh Magistrates Court.
The young man was charged with possessing child exploitation material when he was 19 years old. Our client was searching for images of people his own age and inadvertently downloaded images of people under age.
The young man has a very bright future. He is studying at university and has aspirations to join the defence force. In addition to this, he is a well respected young man in his community.
The law requires an individual to be imprisoned for possessing child exploitation material unless exceptional circumstances arise. Our team worked tirelessly to prepare the matter for sentence. At sentence, we were successful in advocating for a period of probation and no conviction was recorded. Should a conviction have been recorded, our client would have been listed as a sex offender and required to comply with reporting obligations for the foreseeable future.
Our successful representation and advocacy means that this young man can still pursue his dreams and put this mistake behind him. Our client hopes that it also serves as a reminder to others to be careful when using the internet.
