STATE OF TASMANIA v JUSTIN JAMES RAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2025
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE JAGO J
Mr Ray, you have pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child exploitation material. I am also dealing with your plea of guilty to a related summary offence, namely possess bestiality product contrary to s 74(B) of the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Enforcement Act 1995.
Police found the relevant material in your possession during a search conducted on 2 March 2023 after on-line intelligence identified that an IP address linked to your residential address had downloaded child exploitation material. The material was stored across two primary devices, namely a computer tower found in your bedroom and a hard drive, also located in your bedroom. Additionally, one image was found on your mobile phone. In total, 855 unique products of child exploitation material, and nine products of bestiality were found across the three devices. The images were categorised in accordance with the Interpol Baseline Categorisation System as follows: 364 category 1 files; and 491 category 2 files, where three of the category 2 images were also products of bestiality.
I do not stay to repeat the details of the images and videos located. Descriptions of 50 of the files located have been provided. Some of the images you possessed were demeaning and depraved and there were several examples of images depicting the sexual abuse of very young children. The abuse included oral and penile penetration of children by adults. There was also an image of a child performing sexual acts upon an animal. There were features about the way in which the material had been stored which indicates a degree of organisation, and personal interest, in the material.
You are 35 years of age. You were 33 when the offending occurred. You have no prior convictions. At the time of the crimes, you were employed as an IT technician with the Department of Education. Part of your role was to provide day to day support to staff and students across several schools. It also fell to you to undertake repairs on department computers as well as “clean computers” prior to their disposal. This involved removing all data from the computer before it was sent for disposal. I am told, because of your intense interest in computers, you fell into the habit of saving much of the data that you were cleaning from the department computers onto your own equipment. The data you collected was across a variety of subject matters and included movies, music, legal images of school children and adult pornography. You also came across some child pornography whilst you were cleaning the department computers. You kept it and stored it in a way whereby you could access it. It is accepted that whilst it was curiosity that originally led to you collecting the material, you did access parts of it on occasion and there was an element of sexual gratification associated with your possession and viewing of the material.
You grew up in a supportive family environment. You continue to live in the family home. Your schooling years were, however, very difficult. You suffer from a body tremor which led to you being relentlessly bullied and ostracised at school. You had no close friends. Forming supportive social connections has remained a problem into adulthood. Following the completion of your education, you obtained a traineeship with the Department of Education. You showed great aptitude for technology and obtained a diploma in technology in short time. Thereafter, you obtained permanent employment within the IT section of the Education Department and remained in that role until you were terminated when these crimes were detected. Given your conviction for these crimes, it is unlikely that you will obtain employment within a government department in the future, and your opportunity to work within the IT sector generally is also likely to be limited. Because you live an isolated life and do not have the benefit of strong social connections, I accept it is likely that you will feel your loss of employment deeply.
I am told that when these crimes were disclosed, you realised you needed to seek some professional assistance. You felt terrible about what you had done. You sought out and engaged with a psychologist. I have received a letter from that psychologist. It indicates that you have regularly attended sessions with him from March 2023, continuing until recently. It seems you have engaged well with cognitive behavioural therapy directed at understanding your choices to keep and access the child exploitation material, and also directed at developing relapse prevention strategies.
The evils of accessing and possessing child exploitation material have been stated many times by courts. The production of such material involves the exploitation and abuse of children somewhere in the world. The damage done to those children is often profound and irreparable. Viewing and possessing such material exacerbates and extends the abuse and exploitation, and also carries with it the risk of normalising the activity and de-sensitising all of those involved in the process.
Here, I take into account that whilst you lived in a house with others, it seems no one else had direct access to the devices upon which the material was stored, although it can not be said that there was no risk of others coming across it, given the presence of others in the home. I take into account that you did not go out looking for this material, but when you came across it, you made the decision to keep it and store it in a way which enabled ongoing access. I take into account that there is no suggestion that you distributed this material in any way, and there is no evidence that you ever had any intention to do so. I also take into account the number of images which, although not small, is not as great as is often encountered in cases of this nature. You are entitled to credit for your plea of guilty, which is consistent with remorse and reflective of the insight it seems you have developed. You are motivated to ensure that you have in place strategies to minimise any risk of relapse.
The primary sentencing considerations in a matter of this nature are general deterrence and denunciation. Those who possess material of this nature must understand that the consequence is severe punishment. These crimes are relatively easy to commit, and sadly far too common, reflective of the need for a sentence which emphasises general deterrence. In my view the only appropriate sentence is one of imprisonment, but in the circumstances of this case, I have determined it is appropriate that I wholly suspend the period of imprisonment I intend to impose. I think you have already done a considerable amount of work to rehabilitate yourself, and ultimately, the community’s interests are well served by encouraging you to continue in that regard.
I make the following orders. You are convicted of the crimes to which you have pleaded guilty. I impose one sentence. You are sentenced to imprisonment for a period of 15 months. The whole of that period of imprisonment will be suspended on condition that for a period of two years, you commit no offence punishable by imprisonment.
I am required to make an order under the Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2005 unless I am satisfied that you do not pose a risk of committing a reportable offence in the future. Having regard to the circumstances of this case, whilst I am satisfied that the risk is low, I cannot say there is no risk and accordingly I must make an order. I order that your name be placed on the register pursuant to the Act, and that you comply with the reporting obligations under that Act for a period of five years. I order that the mobile phone, hard-drive and computer tower seized by police on 2 March 2023 be forfeited to the State of Tasmania.