Sydney, Oct 1 (IANS) A former Australian TV personality has been sentenced to 10 months in jail for watching child pornography.
Andy Muirhead, 36, the former presenter of the ABC TV show Collectors, pleaded guilty in Tasmania’s Supreme Court to two counts of accessing child porn via internet and one charge of possessing child exploitation material, The Australian reported.
The court was told that Muirhead had viewed thousand of images over 16 months, at times on a daily basis. Some were described as “sadistic” and featured children as young as three.
Chief Justice Ewan Crawford refused to accept Muirhead’s argument that he viewed the images out of curiosity but not for sexual gratification.
Muirhead, who has been in custody since July, will be eligible for conditional release after five months.
He will be released with a security deposit of 5,000 Australian dollars (about $5,200) and the requirement that he be of good behaviour for three years.
Tasmania is an island state, 240 km in the south of the Australian continent. It includes the island of Tasmania, the 26th largest island in the world, and the surrounding 334 islands.
