Phone store discovery leads to admission of more than 100,000 child abuse files

Steven Andrew Small, 58, appeared in Port Macquarie Local Court via audio-visual link from custody before Magistrate Georgina Darcy on Thursday, January 22.

Before the court appearance he was facing eight charges, including six counts of possessing child abuse material, one count of producing child abuse material, and one count of possessing bestiality material.

His defence lawyer told the court that he has now pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing child abuse material, and one count of possessing bestiality material.

The remaining three counts of possessing child abuse material, and one count of producing child abuse material were withdrawn.

According to documents tendered to the court, he was found in possession of the child abuse material when he handed his phone to an employee at a telecommunications storefront in Port Macquarie, and the employee "mistakenly swiped" to the photo app on the offender's phone.

The documents said that Police were called and arrived a short time later where they found 15 images of children, aged between two and six years old, on the phone that "qualified as child abuse material".

Small was taken to the police station where he admitted to possessing the child abuse material on the phone and said there were more files at his house.

According to the documents, police searched his house and found about 97,919 images and more than 200 videos of child abuse material classified as "category 1".

"The ages of the children ranged from babies of around 9 to 12 months old to early teens," police stated of the images found at his house.

Police found a further 28,272 images and 498 videos of child abuse material classified as "category 2". Those files mainly consisted of anime, cartoons, drawings and sketches, according to the documents.

The documents also said that written stories categorised as child abuse material, some of which Small inserted his name into as "the main character", were also seized by police, along with 60 videos and 36 printed pictures categorised a bestiality material.

In a police interview after his arrest, Small "made full admissions" to the possession of the material at his house.

"The offender stated that he became addicted to pornography in the early 1990s, which morphed into accessing and viewing child abuse material in about 1993 to 1994," police stated in the documents.

According to the documents, he further stated that he was "attracted to what I know is wrong and what I can't have".

During the interview, Small was questioned about his access to children and he replied that he deliberately steered himself away from children, "essentially because he does not trust himself".

His case has now moved to the Port Macquarie District Court, where a sentencing date will be set on March 9.