Childcare worker Jason Francis caught with exploitation material

Jason Scott Francis, aged in his 40s, was released when he fronted the ACT Supreme Court for sentencing on Wednesday, having already spent some two-and-a-half months behind bars on remand.

Justice Michael Elkaim said Francis had pleaded guilty in June to charges of accessing and possessing child exploitation material.

He said the offender had been busted with 51 objectionable files on a tablet and other electronic devices in December last year.

"There were some hard copies in a shoebox," the judge added.

Justice Elkaim said Francis had also used his computer and mobile phone to access eight child exploitation images on dates going back to 2018.

"Frighteningly, the offender was working at a childcare centre when the offences were discovered," the judge said in his remarks.

"There is no suggestion, however, that any children in the centre were ever the subject of sexual criminal activity on the part of the offender."

He went on to say Francis, who is now unemployed, had worked as a "casual educator" until his arrest.

While Francis pleaded guilty, Justice Elkaim expressed concern that the man did not seem to have grasped the fact his behaviour was morally wrong.

The judge highlighted what he described as a "particularly worrying" extract from a pre-sentence report when he made this point.

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"While Mr Francis acknowledged the [statement of facts], he questioned the fairness of the charges and attributed a portion of blame to the police by stating they had 'nerve to go questioning it'," the report said.

"He engaged in a level of minimisation and justification of the offences, and did not display insight into the potential impact of his actions in relation to demand [for] such material."

Having viewed a sample of the images in question, Justice Elkaim said they depicted "the most horrific manipulation and degradation of children".

"I am anxious to send a message to all persons who view this kind of material that, when caught, they will face a severe penalty," he remarked, describing a sentence of full-time imprisonment as almost inevitable in such cases.

But the judge said Francis had already spent more than two months in custody, and prosecutors had conceded a further period behind bars was not warranted in the circumstances.

"I regard every offence of this type as objectively serious," he said.

"Nevertheless, it must be recognised that some offending will be worse than others.

"In this matter, the offender seems to have possessed the material for about four months. This length of time suggests he obtained sexual gratification from the material.

"He did not try to sell it or otherwise distribute it.

"Compared to many other cases, the number of images is relatively modest."

Justice Elkaim therefore sentenced Francis to seven months in jail, suspending the balance of the term immediately in recognition of the time already served.

He placed the offender on good behaviour and recognisance release orders for nine months.

Francis is also set to be sentenced in the ACT Magistrates Court later this month for an assault on a child.

Justice Elkaim indicated there was "no sexual element" to that offence.

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