DPP v Murray [2026] VCC 434

(a) Possession of child abuse material on 22 July 2022 contrary to s 51G(1) of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) ('Crimes Act') which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment;

(b) Possession of child abuse material on 31 May 2024 contrary to s 51G(1) of the Crimes Act which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment; and

(c) Four charges of failing to comply with your reporting requirements as imposed by s 46(1A) of the Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004 (Vic) ('SORA') each of which attracts a maximum penalty of 5 years' imprisonment.

1. You were born in July 1985 and are 40 years of age and were aged between 37 years and 39 years at the time of the offending. You were residing in Glen Iris.
2. You are a registered sex offender under the SORA and are registered for the period of your life.
3. You were first placed on the South Australia Sex Offence Registry ('SOR') in 2011 and were transferred to the Victorian SOR in 2014. All of the offending before the court occurred during the period you were so registered.
4. Charges 2-6 on the indictment were committed while you were subject to bail.

1. On 22 July 2022, Victoria Police executed a search warrant pursuant to s 465 of the Crimes Act 1958 at your address. You were present at the address.
2. During the search, the following items were located and seized:

(a) 1 x ASUS branded laptop.

(b) 2 x USB storage plugs.

(c) 1 x Apple iPhone

1. At the same time as the search was being conducted, Victoria Police completed your annual interview and Notice of Reporting Obligations ('NORO') at your residence.
2. You were not arrested at this time.
3. Between 10 October 2023 and 17 January 2024, the seized items were conveyed to the Cybercrime Squad for analysis. There was clearly a very lengthy delay between the execution of the search warrant in July 2022 and the analysis which was not completed until more than 18 months later. The reason for this delay has not been explained to the Court.
4. Victoria Police were subsequently notified that a large amount of category 1 and category 2 child abuse material ('CAM') was located on the ASUS laptop and iPhone.
5. There was no CAM located on the two (2) USB storage plugs.
6. Upon notification, Victoria Police attended at the Cybercrime Squad and commenced categorising the CAM using the Interpol Baseline model for categorising CAM.
7. The Interpol Baseline Model describes category 1 material as: material depicting a real prepubescent child (under the age of 13 years approximately) and the child is involved in a sex act, witnessing a sex act or the material is focused/concentrated on the anal or genital region of the child. The Interpol Baseline Model describes category 2 material as material that is not included within category 1, however is illegal in Victoria and the material depicts a pubescent child (between approximately 13 and under 18 years) and the child is involved in a sex act, witnessing a sex act or the material is focused/concentrated on the anal or genital region of the child. It also includes material depicting a child of any age that: is a victim of torture, cruelty or physically abused; shows the breast area of a female child; engaged in a sexual pose; visual representations of child abuse material; and material a reasonable person would regard as offensive.
8. An examination revealed the following:

(a) ASUS Laptop -

(i) 1586 x category 1 images, which include images of prepubescent males performing fellatio on other prepubescent males and being penetrated in the anus by prepubescent males.

(ii) 364 x category 2 videos and images of prepubescent males in a sexual activity, posing sexually and other offensive images.

(b) Apple iPhone 7 -

(i) 2 x category 1 videos of prepubescent males masturbating.

(ii) 47 x category 2 videos and images of prepubescent males in a sexual activity, posing sexually and other offensive images.

1. On 27 November 2023, you attended St Kilda Police Station where you were arrested and held for interview.
2. During the interview, you stated the items seized belonged to you, although you could not explain why CAM had been located on any of the devices.
3. You stated that you had told police "I'm not worried about those items cause I didn't think there was anything on there", and that you couldn't recall anything being on the iPhone and that if you had 'backslid' you didn't remember.
4. You were charged with knowingly possess CAM and released on bail (Charge 1 - possession of child abuse material).
5. Charge 1 encompasses all of the CAM located on the devices seized on 22 July 2022.
6. On 29 June 2023, you attended at the Prahran Police Station and undertook your annual interview in accordance with your SORA reporting obligations. You signed a NORO.
7. In May 2024 Victoria Police identified that you had not reported two usernames on different applications, in breach of your SORA reporting obligations. These were:

(a) the username 'Khye' on the application Signal (Charge 2 - fail to comply with reporting obligations); and

(b) the username 'K M' on the application 'Kik' (Charge 3 - fail to comply with reporting obligations).

1. On 31 May 2024, Victoria Police attended your address to execute a warrant pursuant to s 465 of the Crimes Act. You were not present at the address at the time.
2. During a search of the address, the following items were located and seized:

(a) 1 x Dell laptop with a Toshiba and Seagate hard drive attached.

(b) 1 x Samsung Galaxy mobile phone.

1. Police left and later re-attended the residence when you were present and seized a Samsung mobile phone
2. You were arrested and taken to Prahran Police station for interview. During the interview, you stated that you did have a Signal application, however, claimed that you did not know what the application 'Kik' was.
3. You provided no-comment to the allegations of CAM material being present on the items seized and stated that your definition of CAM was 'sexualised content of anybody under the age of 18'.
4. On this same day, as per your annual SORA reporting obligations, you signed a further NORO.
5. You were charged and again released on bail.
6. On 18 June 2024, the exhibits seized on 31 May 2024 were conveyed to the Cybercrime Squad for analysis. Victoria Police were subsequently notified that a large amount of CAM had been identified.
7. Between 16 and 23 July 2024, Victoria Police commenced categorising the CAM using the Interpol Baseline model. An examination of the devices revealed 547,780 videos and images, further broken down into 20,350 category 1 videos and images, and 20,497 category 2 images and videos. This totalled 40,847 illegal files, which accounted for only 15.8 per cent of the total files located.
8. The examination identified the following:

(a) Dell laptop with a Toshiba and Seagate hard drive:

(i) Dell laptop - 2720 x category 1 images and videos

(ii) Dell laptop - 3833 x category 2 images and videos

(iii) Toshiba hard drive - 809 x category 1 images and videos

(iv) Toshiba hard drive - 733 x category 2 images and videos

(v) Seagate hard drive - 14906 x category 1 images and videos

(vi) Seagate hard drive - 14012 x category 2 images and videos

(b) Samsung Galaxy mobile phone:

(i) 976 x category 1 images and videos

(ii) 1153 x category 2 images and videos

(c) Samsung Galaxy mobile phone with MicroSD card:39

(i) Samsung Galaxy - 119 x category 1 images and videos

(ii) Samsung Galaxy - 112 x category 2 images and videos

(iii) MicroSD card - 820 x category 1 images and videos

(iv) MicroSD card - 654 x category 2 images and videos.

1. I'll refer to one example of the material located. There was a video of a prepubescent male under the age of 10, ripping and massaging an adult penis. The adult male is on his back, the child inserts the penis into his anus and thrusts up and down with his own penis in clear view.
2. On 12 July 2024, you were further charged for knowingly possess CAM (Charge 4 - possession of child abuse material). Charge 4 encompasses all of the CAM located on the devices seized on 31 May 2024.

Charges 2, 3, 5, 6 and related summary offence 31.

1. On 24 February 2025, you failed to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court in accordance with your undertaking of bail. On this date, three (3) bench warrants were issued for you arrest (Summary Charge 3 - Fail to answer bail).
2. On 25 February 2025, Victoria Police attended your known residence, in Glen Iris in relation to the bench warrants. The premises were found vacant, and enquiries made of the real estate agency informed police that the property had been vacant since 26 November 2024. You did not notify your SOR Compliance Managers of this change to your circumstances (Charge 5 - Fail to comply with reporting obligations).
3. On 26 February 2025, Victoria Police identified that you were residing in Braybrook and had been since 15 December 2024. You failed to notify your SOR Compliance Managers of this change in circumstances (Charge 6 - fail to comply with reporting obligations).
4. On 28 February 2025, Victoria Police attended an address in Braybrook where you were located. You were arrested and conveyed to Footscray Police Station. You were not interviewed and were charged and remanded.

1. The objective seriousness of CAM offending is ordinarily determined by reference to the following factors:

(i) the nature and content of the material, in particular the age of the children and the gravity of the sexual activity depicted;

(iii) whether the material is for the purpose of sale or further distribution;

(iv) whether the offender will profit from the offence;

(v) in the case of possession or access of child pornography for personal use, the number of children depicted and thereby victimised; and

(vi) the length of time for which the pornographic material was possessed.[1]

1. Applying those general principles to the present case, it is clear that this was very serious offending indeed.
2. Starting with charge 1. The materials possessed by you were of a highly depraved nature depicting as they did CAM classified as category one.
3. The amount of material was exorbitant - of in excess of half a million images and videos, more than 42,000 were classified as CAM. It is clearly the case that a large number of children were victimised.
4. It is clear that you had accumulated this material over a lengthy period of time.
5. It is aggravating that this conduct occurred during the operational period of a Community Correction Order ('CCO') which itself had been imposed in 2021 for sexual offending including the possession of CAM.
6. Turning to charge 4, this is concerned with the CAM located on the devices seized from you on 31 May 2024. Once again the images were depraved in nature and voluminous in number. It is aggravating that at the time of this offending you were subject to bail.
7. Both charges 1 and 4 are mid-range examples of this serious criminal offence.
8. The four charges under the SORA are not minor. It is most concerning that, during the period of failing to comply with your important reporting requirements, you were committing other sexual offences.
9. Given your prior criminal history, your moral culpability for this offending is very considerable.

1. You are 40 years old and were born and raised in Albury, New South Wales. You grew up in a broadly stable, hardworking family environment. Your upbringing was a normal one. However, your relationship with your parents strained as you grew up and you report that distance grew in the relationship with your parents. You felt as though you lacked guidance and were left on your own to 'figure things out'.
2. You left home as a teenager and later relocated interstate. In adulthood, you have experienced periods of relationship breakdown and isolation. This increased periods of low mood, isolation and substance relapse.
3. Despite some of the challenges with your family, the relationship has improved considerably over the past five years. You enjoy a much closer relationship with your father and eldest brother.
4. You continue to be supported by them, even while in custody. Your parents are retired and have remained in Albury.
5. You are in a committed relationship with a man who works as a waiter.
6. You experienced behavioural and adjustment difficulties at school, including involvement with a psychologist from the age of ten years old and a period of placement in specialist classes, before returning to mainstream schooling.
7. You completed year 10 studies and later undertook vocational training. You are of at least average intelligence.
8. You completed a certificate II in drycleaning and have worked in this industry for much of your career.
9. At 18, you began working as a trainee and then later qualified as a dry cleaner in Wodonga, before moving to Adelaide.
10. You worked in South Australia as a dry cleaner for a period of seven years before you were apprehended in 2011.
11. When you moved to Melbourne, you worked full time with a dry cleaning company in Burwood between 2014 to late 2024.

1. You are diagnosed with a Major Depressive Disorder (recurrent in partial remission) and have had a longstanding pattern of depressive symptoms and vulnerability to relapse.
2. You also present as possibly having a neurodevelopmental disorder (for example ADHD and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder) contributing to longstanding self-regulation and social functioning difficulties.
3. Previous reports by Dr Gee similarly identify recurrent depressive features and difficulties regulating cognitive, emotional and behavioural states. They also identify periods of low mood and isolation have been associated with maladaptive coping strategies.
4. You have been diagnosed with a stimulant use disorder (in early remission). You have a history of methylamphetamine misuse, with relapse associated with stressors and relationship breakdown.
5. You began to experiment with cannabis and heroin during your teenage years, but stopped very quickly as you didn't like how you felt after you had used it.
6. You first commenced the use of methylamphetamine around 2009/2010.
7. By late 2023, you were constantly under the influence of methylamphetamine, resulting in significant decline of your mental and physical health. You continued the regular use of the substance until your remand in February 2025.

1. Your criminal record dates back to 2001 when you were sentenced to probation in the Albury Children's Court for break and enter.
2. Of far greater concern, in 2012, you were sentenced to 14 months' imprisonment (with a non parole period of 6 months) by the District Court of South Australia for possession of child pornography. According to the police summary, you had about 272,000 images that were identified as child related pornography on an external hard drive.
3. You became registered as a sex offender with effect from 21 May 2013 for a period of 15 years.[2] You first reported to Victoria Police in February 2014. After the 2021 offending, your registration period was extended to the remainder of your life.
4. According to the Forensicare report before the court, you informed police during the South Australian investigation that you had been sexually attracted to children from the age of 12.[3] However, I note that you told Dr Robertson that police had misunderstood you.[4]
5. In May 2021, you were sentenced in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court to a three year CCO for two charges of sexual activity in the presence of a child under 16 and knowingly possessing child abuse material.
6. The first charge related to masturbating in the presence of two nine year old boys in the changerooms of the Harold Holt Swim Centre in Malvern in December 2018.
7. The second sexual activity charge related to exposing your erect penis in the presence of two young brothers at a public toilet in Burwood on 14 December 2019. The boys, not surprisingly, felt unsafe and scared.
8. On 14 July 2019, police attended your address unannounced as part of their supervision of you as a registered sex offender. Police found pornography including CAM on your devices and arrested you. On further analysis, there was a small number of CAM files which depicted males between the ages of 13 and 16 engaged in sexual poses with some penetrative sexual activity depicted.
9. It was a condition of the CCO that you undergo treatment as directed for offending behaviour. You were required to participate in the Sex Offenders' Program. Your fulfilment of this condition was unsatisfactory as detailed later in these reasons.
10. The CCO commenced on 5 May 2021 and expired on 4 May 2024.
11. The conduct making up charges 1 and 2 presently before the court occurred during the period when you were subject to the CCO.
12. The conduct making up charges 3 and 4 occurred within weeks of the CCO's expiry.
13. As noted, all of the conduct occurred during the period when you were a registered sex offender.

1. In assessing your prospects of rehabilitation, an important consideration is your risk of future offending. The court has received two reports examining this risk.
2. The first report dated 9 August 2024 was prepared for Victoria Legal Aid by Forensic Psychologist Dr Dion Gee of Australasian Psychology Services.
3. Dr Gee utilised the Static-99R and RSVP-V2 tools together with the Structured Assessment of Protective Factors against violence risk (SAPROF) to assess your risk of recidivism.
4. In summary, the following results were obtained by Dr Gee:

(a) A score of 9 on the Static-99R test which places you in the Well Above Average Risk category;[5]

(b) A score on the RSVP-V2 tool which placed you in the 'moderate-high' risk of future sexual violence;[6] and

(c) A SAPROF profile which suggested that your then-current circumstances (on bail in the community) 'affords a low degree of protection against a relapse into sexual violence'.[7]

1. Dr Gee concludes as follows regarding your future treatment:

Noting Mr Murray's relapsing history of sexually aberrant behaviour, and despite having previously participated in periods of offence-specific intervention, both his current risk profile and information presented in this report expressly highlights his need for - and indeed he is seen to require - engagement with suitably tailored and intensive (seemingly of high intensity) sexual offender intervention.[8]

2. Dr Gee considers that it would be beneficial if a copy of his report was made available to custodial and/or community-based services who are responsible for your future intervention/management.[9] I will provide a copy of Dr Gee's very helpful report to Corrections, along with these reasons, to assist in your future management.
3. The second report was requested by the Court pursuant to s 8A of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) ('Sentencing Act'). It was completed by Dr Caitlin Robertson, a forensic psychologist who holds the position of a Senior Psychologist at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health (Forensicare).
4. In addition to interviewing you, Dr Robertson examined a wide range of written materials including reports prepared by Bernard Healy;[10] Dr Gee's report; and a psychological report authored in April 2021 by Professor Troy McEwan (Senior Clinical and Forensic Psychologist, Forensicare) to assist with sentencing for prior sexual charges in 2021. I understand this to be a reference to the charges for which you were sentenced to a 36-month CCO by the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on 5 May 2021.
5. Dr Robertson's report includes a review of both your forensic history[11] and your response to offence-specific intervention between 2021 and 2023.[12] In relation to the latter, Dr Robertson records that:

(a) You completed a 6-8 week post-release program in South Australia;

(b) You were treated by Mr Bernard Healy without disclosing all relevant information; and

(c) As part of your recent CCO, you attended 20 sessions of the High Intensity Better Lives Program before being removed from treatment in March 2023 due to accrued absences and after being given a further opportunity to engage, you were finally removed from the program in October 2023 due to being consistently very late to sessions by which point there was insufficient time remaining on the CCO to be offered further treatment.[13]

1. Dr Robertson agrees with the opinion of Dr Gee that while 'your mental health difficulties appear to have contributed in "setting the scene" for your current offending, there does not appear to be a causal relationship'.[14] Dr Robertson considers that 'a desire for novelty and likely deviant sexual arousal toward children resulted in this behaviour expanding to extend to downloading CAM'.[15] She considers that you would 'benefit from offence-specific treatment to address your high risk of sexual reoffending'. Dr Robertson advises that a minimum 18-month sentence is required for prisoners to meet eligibility for referral to Forensic Intervention Services (FIS).
2. Dr Robertson assessed your risk of future offending by administering the Static-99R and RSVP-V2 tools. In addition she assessed risk factors specific to CAM offending using the Child Pornography Offender Risk Tool (CPORT). This is a 7-item tool that predicts sexual recidivism among adult males with a conviction for child pornography offences. This is a useful tool because, as Dr Robertson explains, '... there is some evidence that recidivism risk among CAM offenders may be over-estimated by the more generalised sexual risk assessment tools'.[16]
3. In summary:

(a) your score of 9 on the Static-99R test places you within the Well-Above Average Risk category for sexual recidivism;[17]

(b) your scores on the RSVP-V2 raised a number of concerns particularly on the psychological adjustment domain;[18] and

(c) you presented with five of the seven risk items on the CPORT (prior criminal history; failure on conditional release; indication of paedophilic or hebephiliac interests; more boy than girl content in child pornography materials; and more boy than girl content in nude/other child material).[19]

1. Drawing on these results in combination, Dr Robinson concludes that you 'currently present with a High risk for sexual reoffending' and require a 'high intensity of treatment and support to address criminogenic needs, and reduce the likelihood of recidivism'.[20]
2. The most likely form of offending is accessing CAM on line however, a less likely but still plausible scenario would involve opportunistic non-contact sexual offending (i.e., exhibitionism) against an unknown male (either adult or child) within an enclosed public facility (e.g., changeroom, toilet)'.[21]
3. Dr Robertson makes a number of helpful recommendations for your future management[22] and has no concerns with her report being released to other professionals involved in your case. I will provide a copy of Dr Robertson's very helpful report to Corrections, along with these reasons, to assist in your future management.

1. You are currently 40 years old. This is your third occasion before the courts for to child-related sexual offending.
2. As discussed earlier, you appear to have gained little from the offence-specific treatment offered to you.
3. While you continue to enjoy some family support and have a good work history, it is difficult to be other than guarded about your future prospects in light of your identified recidivism risk.
4. Much will clearly depend on how you respond to treatment in custody.

1. The Court of Appeal has recently explained that:

'The offences of access to and possession of child pornography are regarded as very serious, involving morally depraved conduct that is extremely harmful to children. Those who are inclined to exploit children, by involving them in the production of child pornography, are encouraged by the fact that there is a market for that material. In other words, the possession of child pornography material creates a market for the continued corruption and exploitation of children by fuelling demand for that material. In that way, it normalises behaviour, which is depraved and exploitive of children. > > In that context, it is relevant that offending involving accessing or possession of child pornography occurs on an international level and is becoming increasingly prevalent, with the advent and proliferation of the Internet as a means of enabling people to access and retain child pornography'.[23]

2. It is well established that 'the purpose of general deterrence is accorded primacy in sentencing offending involving child pornography'.
3. Appellate Courts have repeatedly reminded that:

'... it is necessary that the sentences imposed by the courts are such that those persons, who might contemplate being involved in the depraved and pernicious reception of child pornography, well understand that if their offending is detected, they will lose their right to be at liberty within society for a substantial period of time. It is only in that way that the courts can perform the vital function of providing protection to vulnerable children'.[24]

1. Charges 1 and 4 are 'serious sexual offences' for the purposes of the serious offender regime established by Part 2A of the Sentencing Act.
2. As you have previously been sentenced for two charges of possess child pornography in South Australia,[25] the regime will apply to charges 1 and 4.
3. Therefore, any term of imprisonment imposed by the court must be served cumulatively upon any uncompleted sentences imposed on you unless the court otherwise directs.[26] However, the regime must be applied having regard to the principle of totality.[27]
4. Further, in sentencing you as a serious sexual offender, community protection is the foremost sentencing consideration.[28]
5. Finally, the records of the court must reflect that you have been sentenced as a 'serious sexual offender'.[29]

1. Your counsel submitted that limbs 2 and 5 are applicable.
2. Limb 2 states that a mental health condition may affect the choice of sentence and the conditions imposed by the court.
3. The submission is that your need for intensive intervention means that a longer parole period should be set.
4. Limb 5 states that a sentencing court must take into account evidence that an offender's mental health may make the custodial experience more onerous than it would be for a person with normal mental health.
5. I accept that, on the evidence before the court there is a basis for applying both limbs and have moderated both the head sentence and the non parole period to a modest extent accordingly.

1. The court received a contravention report dated 23 November 2023 in relation to the CCO which was imposed on you in 2021.
2. The report provides further detail of your failure to engage appropriately with the FIS program to reduce offending between 2022 and 2023.[31] The report ultimately concluded that the condition remained uncompleted after numerous unexplained absences. As this period overlaps with the offending for which you are currently to be sentenced, this is clearly highly relevant. This was also the time when you were seeing Mr Healy for treatment.
3. The Court has very recently been informed that you were sentenced in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on 16 February 2026 for the summary matter and breach of CCO. You received a 4-month term of imprisonment, which was made up of 3 months for the breach of the CCO and 1 month for the criminal charge.
4. I have earlier characterised your CAM-related offending as mid-range. Turning to the SORA contraventions.

1. As noted earlier, you have been a registered sex offender since your registration in South Australia in 2011. Your registration was transferred to Victoria under the SORA in 2014.
2. Section 1 of the SORA relevantly provides:

The purpose of this Act is - > > (a) to require certain offenders who commit sexual offences to keep police informed of their whereabouts and other personal details for a period of time - > > (i) to reduce the likelihood that they will re-offend; and > > (ii) to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of any offences that they may commit; > > (b) to prevent registrable offenders working in child-related employment; > > (c) to empower the IBAC to monitor compliance with Parts 3 and 4 of this Act; > > (d) to provide for the making of prohibition orders to prevent registrable offenders engaging in certain conduct.

3. It may readily be observed that the requirements that were imposed on you by virtue of your registration under this legislative scheme in 2014 are no mere formalities. On the contrary, those requirements were intended to reduce the risk of you re-offending and to make it easier for police to investigate you in the event that they suspected you had re-offended. This is clearly in the interests of community safety.
4. By July 2023 when you first failed to comply with your reporting obligations, you had been registered for over a decade. You were well familiar with your obligations and you are an intelligent man.
5. One of your obligations was to report annually to police.[32] On 29 June 2023 you complied with this requirement by reporting to the Prahran police station. You signed an acknowledgement that you were aware of your obligations as a registered offender. One of the obligations detailed in the acknowledgement was to notify police of any change of residential address within 24 hours of the change.[33] Another was to notify any internet accounts.[34]
6. It is therefore most concerning that only one month later, in July 2023, you failed to report that you had created a Signal account. This failure occurred during the period of the operation of the CCO imposed in 2021.
7. Police conducted a further annual review with you on 29 May 2024. Once again you signed the acknowledgement.
8. There were further failures to report relevant information to police in May 2024, November 2024 and December 2024. On each date you were subject to bail.
9. The latter two charges were failures to notify changes to your residential address. On the facts before the court this had a practical impact on the work of the police although it is not alleged that you were deliberately avoiding the police. After you failed to appear at court in accordance with your bail on 24 February 2025, the next day police attended at your most recently notified address to execute a bench warrant. They were informed by the real estate agent that you had not lived there since 26 November 2024.
10. In these circumstances, I consider charges 2, 3, 5 and 6 to be approaching the mid-range of offences under the SORA. Considering the statutory purposes of the Act, and the length of time to which you had been subject to the obligations, your moral culpability for this offending is considerable. Each failure is a discrete offence although it is appropriate to make the sentences substantially concurrent to give effect to the principle of totality.
11. The court was informed that there are few appellate decisions involving sentencing under SORA. The court was referred to a decision of this court in which an offender was sentenced to imprisonment for 7 months for a rolled up charge of failing to notify police of online accounts.[35]

1. You pleaded guilty at an early stage to the offending before the court. By so doing, you acknowledge your responsibility for the offending and you save witnesses the anxiety and stress of giving evidence in court
2. You also save the prosecuting authorities and the court time and resources which would be associated with any trial of the charges you face
3. You are entitled to a significant discount for the utilitarian benefit to the community by virtue of your guilty pleas.
4. I have also noted there is a significant delay in relation to your case. Especially, the delay since charge 1 in July 2022, approaching as it does some 4 years
5. A considerable amount of that delay was associated with the delay in prosecuting examining the devices that were taken from your home
6. The delay is relevant in your case in that it will have cause anxiety to you in the sense of the charges hanging over your head. However, you do not get the benefit of the other limb of delay which relates to demonstrated progress to rehabilitation during the period of delay.

1. On charge 1, possession of child abuse material on 22 July 2022 contrary to s 51G(1) of the Crimes Act 1958 you are convicted and sentenced to 4 years' imprisonment;
2. On charge 4, possession of child abuse material on 31 May 2024 contrary to s 51G(1) of the Crimes Act 1958 you are convicted and sentenced to 4 years' imprisonment;
3. On charges 2, 3, 5 and 6 of failing to comply with your reporting requirements as imposed by s 46(1A) of the SORA you are convicted and sentenced to an aggregate sentence of 12 months' imprisonment.
4. On summary charge 3, fail to answer bail, you are convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for 1 month.
5. The base sentence is that imposed in respect of charge 4. I order that 12 months of the charge 1 sentence; and 4 months of the aggregate sentence imposed in respect of charges 2, 3, 5 and 6 be served cumulatively on the base sentence and on each other. The sentence imposed on summary charge 3 is to be served wholly concurrently.
6. The total effective sentence is therefore 5 years and 4 months.
7. You will be eligible for parole after serving 3 years and 3 months.
8. Pursuant to s 18 of the Sentencing Act, the 307 days you have already served on remand is to be reckoned as time served in relation to the sentence imposed today.
9. Pursuant to s 6AAA of the Sentencing Act, had you been found guilty by a jury, the total effective sentence would have been 7 years with a non parole period of 4 years and 6 months.
10. You have been sentenced as a serious sexual offender in relation to charges 1 and 4.

1. The prosecution submitted that, although you are already the subject of a SORO for life, the court 'must make a new order with a reporting period of the remainder of Mr Murray's life from the date of the sentence'. The submissions referred to ss 33 and 34(1)(c)(iii) in support of that submission.[36]
2. Section 33 explains when a 'registerable offender's' reporting obligations commence. Section 34(1)(c)(iii) provides that a registerable offender in your position must continue to comply with the reporting obligations for the remainder of his life.
3. Neither provision deals explicitly with the court's obligations where, as here, a person is already registered for life. Does the court, as the prosecution submits, have to make a further registration Order? At first blush, this appears to be redundant as it would have no legal effect other than to trigger:

(a) the court's obligation under s 50 of SORA to give the registerable offender further written notice of his reporting obligations; and

(b) the offender's obligation to report his personal details to the Chief Commissioner of Police under s 12 of SORA.

1. As a matter of principle, a court should not make an order that is essentially redundant. However, I accept the symbolic importance of re-stating your obligations and the need for you to once again acknowledge your obligations especially given the present offending. I note that this approach is consistent with that taken by other Judges of this court.[37]
2. You are a registerable sex offender. You must comply with the reporting obligations for the remainder of your life.[38]

[1] R v De Leeuw [2015] NSWCCA 183, 32 [72], (references omitted).

[3] Forensicare Psychology Court Report by Dr Caitlin Roberston dated 19 January 2026, 8 [44] ('Forensicare Report').

[5] Forensic Psychologist Report written by Dr Dion Gee dated 9 August 2024, 24 [66].

[10] Psychological Report written by Mr Bernard Healey dated 10 April 2024; Historical Psychological Report written by Mr Bernard Healey dated 11 March 2020.

[11] Forensicare Report (n 3), 8 [43]-[46]

[23] Crowder v The King [2024] VSCA 211, [40]-[41] (references omitted)

[25] Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic), sch 1, 1(g) ('Sentencing Act').

[26] Ibid, s 6E.

[28] Ibid, s 6D(a)

[29] Ibid, S 6F(1).

[30] R v Verdins [2007] VSCA 102.

[31] Contravention of Community Correction Order Report dated 23 November 2023, 2.

[33] SOR acknowledgement signed 29 June 2023, 4.

[35] DPP v Graham [2022] VCC 1260.

[36] Prosecution Submissions for Plea dated 6 October 2025, 10 [61], note 30.

[37] Ibid, [129], [131]-[132]; DPP v Graham [2022] VCC 1260.