A man caught with thousands of child abuse files "as extreme as one could conjure", used them for his own "selfish, pathetic purposes", a judge has said.
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The court sentenced the sex offender to time behind bars, finding the man was more concerned about the "welfare of his pet dog than the welfare of the children in the images".
Peter Charles Henderson on Thursday faced the ACT Supreme Court.
The 37-year-old had previously pleaded guilty to using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material and possession of child abuse material.
The musician admitted sending 68 child abuse files and text-based abuse material to co-offender Chelsea Amalia Crivici via WhatsApp.
The offences occurred between October 2021 and March 2022.
Henderson was also found with almost 2000 child abuse images and videos. The files showed 1000 individual child victims, largely aged between one and 10.
The man was sentenced to a total of two years and four months in jail, with 10 months of those to be served in custody, before the rest of the sentence is effectively suspended.
Henderson and Crivici first connected on Tinder, and exchanged messages Acting Justice Stephen Norrish described as "depraved communications".
"The discussions in their terms bring shame on both participants," he said.
While giving evidence last month, Henderson had denied having a sexual interest in children, saying he had "play-acted" for Crivici's benefit.
However, Crivici claimed in April she had kept the files and turned them in to police while "trying to play cop".
Henderson had previously stated he had been introduced to child abuse material by a former partner, and had kept the stash of files for two years after the relationship ended.
On Thursday, Acting Justice Norrish labelled this as "an absolutely pathetic excuse" for possessing material "of such vile character".
"These denials stand quite at odds with the facts of the matter," Acting Justice Norrish said.
"One of those files is so horrific that standing by itself it represents an extreme.
"This is a very poor reflection upon his priorities."
The judge stated Henderson's actions had shown a "complete lack of empathy, sympathy or regard to the victims".
"[The files are] so disgustingly depraved it is almost impossible to derive of any person who would take any pleasure or interest [in it]," Acting Justice Norrish said.
"The offender has shown far more interest in the welfare of his pet dog than the welfare of the children in the images."
The images and videos, which the judge said were "as extreme as one could conjure", were found by officers in April 2022 after Crivici alerted police.
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Acting Justice Norrish took Henderson's mental health and prospects of rehabilitation into account, but ultimately found "transmitting the material for his own selfish, pathetic purposes requires him to spend time in custody".
The judge also found Henderson's fear of going to jail was "shared by many" and was "emblematic of his refusal to accept responsibility".
Henderson is set to be eligible for release in March 2024.
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