IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA
AT Melbourne
CRIMINAL DIVISION	Revised
Not Restricted
Suitable for Publication	

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS		
		
v		
		
ROBERT SLOAN (A PSEUDONYM)		

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JUDGE:	HER HONOUR JUDGE CARLIN 	
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne	
DATE OF HEARING:	18 February 2021	
DATE OF SENTENCE:	5 March 2021	
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Sloan (a pseudonym)	
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2021] VCC 209		

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject: Criminal Law		
Catchwords: 	Commonwealth offences, use carriage service to solicit, access, transmit and possess child abuse material; victims included children of offender’s partner; sustained offending; large volume of child abuse material; mild intellectual impairment; reduced moral culpability; guarded prospects of rehabilitation
Legislation Cited: Commonwealth Crimes Act 1914; Commonwealth Criminal Code
Cases Cited:	Clarkson v The Queen (2011) 32 VR 361; Adamson v R [2015] VSCA 194; Barbaro & Zirilli v The Queen [2012] 226 A Crim R 354
Sentence: Total effective sentence of four years and one month imprisonment with a non parole period of two years and six months.		

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APPEARANCES:
	Counsel	Solicitors	
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Ms L. Skoblar	CDPP	
			
For the Accused	Ms S. Parsons	Doogue + George 	

HER HONOUR:

Introduction
1	At the outset I indicate that the published version of these sentencing remarks will be anonymised by the use of a pseudonym for the offender and all other parties.  Although it might seem that this is done to protect the identity of the offender, that is not the reason.  It is to protect the identity of his victims.  Specifically, the law prohibits the publication of any details likely to lead to the identification of any person against whom a sexual offence is alleged to have been committed.  A schedule of substitutions containing the correct names will be kept on the court records.
2	Robert Sloan, over a two-and-a-half-month period starting in October 2019 you engaged in the accessing, storage, transmission and solicitation of child abuse material using various electronic devices and cloud storage and social media and internet messaging platforms.  The child abuse material included sexually explicit conversations with adults including your partner at the time, Danielle Pana, about children, as well as almost 5000 sexually explicit images and videos of children. The children were mostly unknown to you but did include Ms Pana's children and on one occasion your own child with Ms Pana.  Ms Pana approved of your sexual interest in children, particularly her eight-year-old daughter Aubrey Pana and was a willing participant in some of your conduct.  
3	Your offending came to an end after Facebook detected concerning exchanges between you and Ms Pana, and notified authorities in the United States of America, who then notified Victoria Police. On 7 January 2020 members of a joint Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police Taskforce attended your home in Point Cook where you lived with your mother, half-brother and his partner and executed a search warrant.  Police located and seized a mobile phone, iPad and three USB thumb drives.  
4	Preliminary examination of your mobile phone revealed a large number of sexually explicit images and videos of children, including an image of Aubrey Pana on a couch without underwear and with her genitals exposed. After the search you and Ms Pana were arrested, interviewed and charged.  
5	You told police that your first exposure to child abuse material was essentially inadvertent and happened when someone sent it to you via Kik, a social messaging platform.  You said you then became curious when you were high on ice and searched for it again.  Thereafter, you received more material via Kik.  You said you could not recall how often you watched it and denied transmitting any child abuse material to anyone else.  You said you created a separate file called 'CP' on your Dropbox cloud storage to keep your child abuse images separate from your other photographs.  You claimed you felt shocked and sick when you watched child abuse material and that although you deleted it from your phone it kept reappearing.
6	You have been in custody since your arrest.  After her arrest Ms Pana was extradited to New South Wales, where she normally resided.  
7	Later detailed forensic analysis of your devices, revealed the extent of your offending and resulted in the seven Commonwealth Criminal Code charges, to which you pleaded guilty before me on 18 February 2021 namely:
Two charges of using a carriage service to solicit child abuse material, contrary to sub-section 474.22(1)(a)(iv) of the Commonwealth Criminal Code- Counts 1 and 5.
One charge of using a carriage service to access child abuse material, contrary to sub-section 474.22(1)(a)(i) Count 2.  
Three charges of using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material, contrary to sub-section 474.22(1)(a)(iii)- Counts 3, 4 and 6.  
One charge of possessing child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, contrary to sub-section 474.22A (1)- Count 7.  
All charges are punishable by a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment.
8	After a plea on your behalf it now falls to me to sentence you for your conduct.  Your counsel, Ms Parsons, submitted that a term of imprisonment followed by a recognisance release order was within range and appropriate in your case.  Such a sentence is only available if the total effective head sentence does not exceed three years, otherwise a non-parole period must be imposed. The prosecutor Ms Skoblar submitted that a sentence involving a non-parole period ought be imposed.  
9	In arriving at an appropriate sentence, I am obliged to have regard, at a minimum, to the factors set out in s.16A(2) of the Commonwealth Crimes Act 1914.  Some of these factors tend towards leniency and some point the other way.  No one factor automatically prevails over any other.  Rather I must have regard to them all and give each one the weight it deserves to arrive at a just sentence.
Circumstances of the offending
10	Turning to the circumstances of your offending.  The agreed facts upon which I sentence you are set out in a summary of prosecution opening which was tendered on the plea.    The following is a brief summary.  
11	You met Ms Pana several years ago.  At that time she already had three children, a daughter, Aubrey Pana, and twins Henry Pana and Kelly Pana, a boy and a girl respectively.  You and Ms Pana then had one child together, a daughter, Quin Sloan.  
12	At the time of the offending, you were 30 years old and lived in Melbourne with your mother, half-brother and Quin Sloan who was between 8 and 10 months old.  Ms Pana lived in New South Wales as did Aubrey Pana, who was then aged eight, and the twins who were four.  You saw Aubrey Pana and the twins sporadically and always in the company of others.  They knew you as their mother's partner.
13	Counts 1 and 5, are charges of using a carriage service to solicit child abuse material.  
14	They relate to Facebook chats in which you asked Ms Pana to take sexually explicit photographs of her children for you.  
15	Count 1, comprises chats on 20 October, 6 December and 7 December 2019 during which you and Ms Pana discussed Aubrey in a sexual manner and you asked Ms Pana to take photographs of Aubrey for you, at one stage saying she should photograph Aubrey's vagina whilst she was sleeping.  Ms Pana explained the practical difficulty of photographing Aubrey, especially when her mother was around, but was generally willing to oblige.  Ms Pana told you that Aubrey had watched a video of you and Ms Pana engaging in sexual activity and that she, Ms Pana, fantasised about Aubrey performing fellatio on you.  You and Ms Pana also discussed engaging in sexual acts with Aubrey similar to the child abuse material the two of you had viewed online.
16	Count 5 comprises a single chat on 21 December 2019 in which Ms Pana sent you three revealing images of Aubrey and/or Kelly Pana and you asked her for more explicit images.  The first was an image of Aubrey and Kelly bent over on a bed with their dresses pulled up exposing their underwear and you told Ms Pana to ask them to pull their underwear up a bit.  The second was an image of a naked Kelly Pana bent over with red scribble obscuring her anus and you asked Ms Pana for an unredacted image so you could 'blow over her'.  The third was an image of Aubrey on a couch with her legs apart and red scribble obscuring her exposed genitalia and you again asked for an unredacted image so you could see her vagina.  
17	During this conversation you and Ms Pana discussed how to get Aubrey and Kelly to pose for explicit images. You told Ms Pana to tell Aubrey that Rob (meaning you) wanted to see the pictures and suggested that it might help if Ms Pana told Aubrey that you had a crush on her or if she showed Aubrey a video of you complimenting Aubrey. You also suggested that Ms Pana show Aubrey an image of your penis, but 
Ms Pana refused because she said, Aubrey had 'freaked out', over what she had seen so far.  In relation to Kelly you told Ms Pana to ask her to pose again, this time playing with herself.    
18	Count 2 is a charge of using a carriage service to access child abuse material. 
19	It relates to four occasions between 26 November 2019 and 
22 December 2019 when you used your mobile phone to access internet links containing child abuse videos.  A total of 73 child abuse videos were accessed including 58 videos contained in two separate folders each with the title, 'girls under 6 sex' and showing children engaging in penetrative sexual acts with adults and one video entitled, 'pedo- 14 yo girl fuck with dog and her strap on’s sister.rar’
20	Counts 3, 4 and 6 are charges of using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material.  
21	Count 3, consists of eight separate occasions between 26 November 2019 and 28 December 2019 in which you communicated child sexual abuse material about Aubrey Pana via internet messaging platforms.  Six occasions were sexually explicit conversations about Aubrey Pana and two occasions involved the sending of sexualised images of Aubrey Pana.  Four communications were with strangers and four were with Ms Pana.  
22	In two of the conversations with strangers you used Ms Pana's online identity and pretended to be her talking about you and Aubrey.  You spoke to the strangers about grooming Aubrey or your daughter and used graphic language to describe your various sexual fantasies.  One stranger suggested using Henry to introduce Aubrey to sexual acts.  Another asked you for a photograph of your daughter. On 28 December 2019 you sent an image of Aubrey sitting on a couch with her legs apart and genitals exposed to 24 strangers.  This was the same image that police found on your mobile phone when they first examined it.  Nothing can now be done to stop that image being transmitted worldwide via the internet.  
23	In one conversation with Ms Pana the two of you spoke about engaging in sex acts with Aubrey and of Aubrey agreeing to photographs being taken.  Ms Pana suggested showing Aubrey child sexual abuse images to normalise such activity.  
24	In a later conversation Ms Pana sent you various videos of Aubrey including a video of her rolling around on a bed with her underwear visible and a video of her dancing and lifting her skirt up to show her underwear.  Both of those videos focused on her buttocks and genital area and you commented on her body and said you wanted to 'eat her'.  In that conversation you and Ms Pana again discussed showing Aubrey child sexual abuse videos.  You suggested that Ms Pana showed Aubrey some videos and Ms Pana told you that she had done so but had to 'ease up' because Aubrey didn't know how to react and she, Ms Pana, was afraid that she would 'freak out'. Ms Pana told you that Aubrey had agreed to being filmed dancing and lifting up her skirt for you.  Ms Pana confirmed that she needed to get Aubrey away from her (Ms Pana's) mother to take more photographs whilst Aubrey was asleep and you indicated your approval.
25	Count 4 consists of you transmitting child sexual abuse images of unidentified children over the internet on three days.  On 29 and 30 November 2019 you sent four different links via the Kik messaging platform, comprising a total of 786 sexually explicit videos of children, 68 of which also contained adult females and 39 of which were in a folder entitled 'moms'.  
26	On 4 December 2019, you and Ms Pana had a Facebook chat in which you gave her login details for your mega cloud storage account containing child sexual abuse material and then spoke about which video she was watching.  When she told you it was one where a vibrator was being used on a child who was protesting, you said: 'stop u making me hard.' 
27	Count 6 consists of a sexually explicit Facebook chat between you and 
Ms Pana about her son Henry and your infant daughter Quin on 24 December 2019.  Specifically, Ms Pana told you that if Quin had not just woken up, she, Ms Pana, would probably be sucking Henry's penis, whereupon you told her to do it anyway and that she should let Quin watch.  After Ms Pana sent you an image of Henry on a bed with his pyjamas pulled down to expose his buttocks, you again encouraged her to suck on his penis and told her that he would love it.
28	Count 7 is a charge of possessing child abuse material accessed using a carriage service.  
29	Analysis of your mobile phone, iPad and three USB thumbnail devices revealed they contained a total of 4964 sexually explicit images and videos of children of which 4832 were unique, as in not repeated.  These images and videos did not include the 73 videos represented by Count 2.  They were categorised according to the ACECS categorisation scale of no sexual activity (Category 1), sexual activity only involving children (Category 2), non-penetrative sexual activity with adults (Category 3), penetrative sexual activity with adults (Category 4), sexual activity involving sadism, bestiality or child abuse (Category 5) and, animated or virtual sexual activity (Category 6). 
30	You had images and videos in all categories with the largest number in any single category being Category 4, where you had 2097 unique images and videos, including girls ranging in age from infants to about 10 being penetrated by adult male penises, orally, vaginally and anally.  Your Category 1 images and videos included the images of Aubrey and Kelly that are the subject of Count 5, but otherwise all your images and videos, the subject of this count, were of unidentified children.  Your Category 5 images and videos, of which there were 116 unique, included sadism and bestiality.
Objective Gravity of your offending and moral culpability
31	I now turn to the objective gravity of your offending and moral culpability.
32	The maximum penalty of 15 years reflects the inherent seriousness of each of your crimes being crimes which, by virtue of the fact they endanger the welfare of children, strike at the heart of civilised society.  Moreover, one only has to recite the facts in this case to appreciate the gravity of your particular conduct.  Your accessing, transmission and storage of child abuse material involving children unknown to you was serious enough, but your willingness to exploit and potentially corrupt Ms Pana's children, and even your own child, raises your offending to a whole new level.  You did not care that those children knew you as their mother's partner and trusted you in that capacity.  You were prepared to subjugate their welfare, just as you were prepared to subjugate the welfare of all the children you did not know, to your perverted sexual desires.  The depths of your depravity are hard to fathom.  Lest you think the fact that 
Ms Pana was a willing participant in your activities in anyway mitigates your crime, it does not.  Nor does the fact you were not paid for the images or videos you transmitted, as the industry thrives on the voluntary sharing of such material.
33	The following matters further illustrate the objective gravity of your overall and individual offending:  
a.	the duration and sustained nature of your offending which only came to an end upon its detection; 
b.	the sheer volume of child abuse images and videos and therefore number of children exploited in the production of the videos;  
c.	the large proportion of videos as opposed to images (being all of Count 2 and 42.7 per cent of Count 7);
d.	the nature of the images and videos with a large number falling into the more serious categories, (that being all of Count 2 and 43.4 per cent of Count 7 falling into Category 4);
e.	the young age of many of the children depicted in the images and videos, including Aubrey and Kelly;
f.	Your graphic and highly explicit language;
g.	Your use of Ms Pana's identity to conceal your own (and that relates to Count 3);
h.	 Your conveying of the fact you were sexually aroused at viewing a video in which a child was protesting (Count 4); and finally  
i.	your preparedness to effectively disseminate Aubrey's image to the world at large (Count 3), especially when you had done something similar before, a matter to which I shall return.  
34	In addition, the fact your offending occurred whilst you were on probation and a recognisance release order to be of good behaviour, is an aggravating feature.  
35	It is true, as Ms Parsons submitted, that your offending did not involve great sophistication or subterfuge and nor were you part of an organised and broader network.  It is also true that some of your offending consisted only of conversations and sometimes private chats between you and Ms Pana, however, your crimes were still serious examples of the offences charged.  
36	Whilst acknowledging the seriousness of your offending, Ms Parsons submitted that your moral culpability was reduced by reason of your significant intellectual deficits and psychological disorders.  In that regard, she relied on two reports, the first was a report of forensic psychologist Carla Ferrari who interviewed you on 23 September and 6 October last year.   The second was a report of clinical neuropsychologist Jane Lofthouse who assessed you on 4 January this year.   
37	Similar to your account to police, you told Ms Ferrari, that you were initially sent child abuse material by unknown persons on Kik and thereafter only viewed it or engaged in inappropriate conduct when under the influence of ice and GHB.  You claimed that when you were sober you were sickened by your behaviour.  
38	Ms Ferrari described you as displaying low average intelligence and capable of understanding questioning as long as it was kept relatively simple.  She considered that the evidence including previous diagnoses, indicated that you suffered from intellectual disability, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, (‘ADHD’), major depressive disorder and several substance use disorders.  She noted a correlation between use of methylamphetamine (‘ice’) and GHB with heightened sexual desire and arousal and that cannabis can impair self-control, inhibition, moral reasoning and decision making.  She also noted that ADHD is a risk factor for substance use as well as causing impulsivity, mood instability and low self-control, symptoms which can be exacerbated by drug use.
39	Having regard to your explanation for your offending, Ms Ferrari concluded that:
'Whilst your substance abuse contributed to [your] criminal activity, [your] underlying mental health, neurological and intellectual disposition also played a significant underlying role in the offending and predisposed [you] to substance use in the first place.'
40	She recommended neuropsychological testing to establish the severity of your previously diagnosed intellectual disability, and in the event, this was done by 
Ms Lofthouse.  
41	Ms Lofthouse found that you demonstrated global and significant intellectual impairment likely to be developmental in nature with a full-scale intelligence quotient of 68 placing you in the mildly intellectually disabled range.  She considered your intellectual impairment combined with you ADHD and other psychological conditions were causally linked to your offending in that they were likely to impinge on your ability for reasoned and informed decision making and place you at 'risk of aggressive and impulsive behaviour coupled with emotional instability.'  However, she said your drug and alcohol use would have compounded your intellectual deficits and psychological issues and been a further and significant contributing factor.  In particular it would have further destabilised your behaviour and placed you at additional risk of engaging in poorly considered problem-solving and impulsive behaviour.
42	It is difficult to see how your offending can be considered impulsive given its repetitive and sustained nature.  Further the pure volume of child abuse material and the various ways in which you accessed it and stored it in the cloud and on your devices belies your explanation that your interest only arose in the context of drug use and that otherwise you were horrified by such activity.  I am satisfied that you minimised your involvement in the offending to the police and Ms Ferrari. 
43	I accept that your impaired mental functioning, particularly your intellectual disability, does reduce your moral culpability for your offending.  Clearly you are not to be treated the same as a person with no such impairment.  However, it has not been suggested that you did not appreciate that what you were doing was wrong and clearly you did.  Not only is this apparent from your accounts to police and Ms Ferrari, but it is confirmed by your efforts to conceal your activity.  In that regard you pretended to be Ms Pana in chats with strangers, you kept your child abuse material separate from your other stored photographs and you and Ms Pana discussed the need to avoid the watchful gaze of her mother.  Further, the fact you blamed your conduct entirely on drugs demonstrates, I am satisfied, an attempt by you to evade responsibility for actions you knew to be morally reprehensible.  
44	In my view, not only were your offences serious examples of the crimes charged you also bear a high moral responsibility for them, notwithstanding your mental impairment.
Current Sentencing Practices
45	I turn to the current sentencing practices.  One and only one of the matters to which I should have regard in arriving at an appropriate sentence for you is current sentencing practices.  The reason is to promote consistency of approach in sentencing, particularly, the application of relevant sentencing principles.  Whilst no two cases are ever the same, sentences imposed in comparable cases may provide a convenient yardstick against which to measure any sentence proposed in the instant case.  
46	The prosecutor referred to two intermediate appellant sentences which bore some similarities to your case, but also significant dissimilarities, highlighting the fact that ultimately my duty is to impose a just and appropriate sentence on you in the unique circumstances of this case.
Background and personal circumstances
47	Turning to your background and personal circumstances.  You are now 
32 years old.  You were born in Sydney and raised in Sydney and Queensland.  You have five half siblings on your mother's side.  You also have half siblings on your father's side, with whom you have no contact.  You told Ms Ferrari that your upbringing was 'devoid of emotion’ and your father had unresolved guilt from leaving his former partner.
48	You experienced attention, behaviour and learning difficulties at school and were diagnosed at different times with intellectual disability, ADHD and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (‘ODD’).  You were prescribed medication for ADHD which increased your focus but made you more aggressive and after two years you stopped taking it.  By Grade 6 you were mixing with negative peers, using cannabis, fighting with other children and abusing teachers.  You started drinking alcohol at about age 14.  You were suspended and expelled from different schools for aggressive behaviour.  When you were 15 your father died, and you were expelled from school for throwing a chair at a teacher.  That was the end of your formal education.  
49	You had a good relationship with your mother's partner after your father, but he also died in 2018.  This significantly affected you and your mother who had to face losing another partner.  
50	You have a limited work history.  After leaving school you worked in roofing with your brother but were forced to stop upon being diagnosed with epilepsy.  You have a truck licence and have completed a traffic control course in custody.  You have received the Disability Support Pension since you were 16.  
51	You have had several partners, most recently, a two-year relationship with Ms Aubrey.  Your past relationships were not ideal, with one former partner introducing you to methylamphetamine and another stabbing you with glass during an argument.  You have an eight-year-old daughter from another relationship but have no contact with that child.  
52	You met Ms Pana online when you lived in Queensland and she in New South Wales.  After that, you, your mother and two half siblings moved to Melbourne to escape family violence from your other half siblings. Ms Pana lived with you in Melbourne for a period before returning to New South Wales to be close to her other three children, and leaving Quin Sloan, the daughter you had together, with you and your mother.  Quin is currently in the care of her maternal great aunt in New South Wales.  You told Ms Ferrari, that Ms Pana had a history of substance use and had just exited drug rehabilitation when you met her.  
53	You told Ms Ferrari that soon after using ice for the first time at about age 24 you became addicted.  You said you managed to stay abstinent for about 5 months before you moved to Melbourne but at the time of the offending were using ice frequently and also drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis.  You also said that about 4 months prior to the offending Ms Pana introduced you to GHB and you started using it once or twice per week with ice and also liquid morphine to come down. 
54	You have a history of anxiety and depression with one prior attempt at self-harm.  You have reported suicidality since being remanded and are on an antidepressant as well as medication for your epilepsy.  You are in good physical health apart from your epilepsy.  
55	You have a good relationship with your mother and some of your half siblings, who remain supportive of you.
Impact of your offending 
56	Other matters I am required to take into account are the impact of your offending on your victims and their personal circumstances.  
57	The caregivers of your known victims, Ms Pana's children, provided victim impact statements.  
58	Aubrey Pana's grandmother described how you have destroyed Aubrey's trust in people, even her own family.  She said that Aubrey is particularly upset at the fact you obtained a nude photograph of her and disseminated it on the internet.  She has gone from being a happy and fun-loving child to someone who is withdrawn, has difficulty sleeping and is angry and intolerant of her siblings.  She sees a child psychologist weekly.  Her grandmother is concerned that Aubrey will be more affected as she matures and realises the full extent of 'the depravity she was exposed to.'
59	The father of Henry and Kelly Pana, says his children have been, 'objectified' and their childhood has been taken away from them.  They miss their mother and refuse to talk about their emotions.  He is worried about their future when they realise what happened to them.  
60	Even without victim impact statements from all your other unidentified child victims, there is a legal presumption that premature sexual activity causes long term and serious physical and psychological harm to children, whether or not they consent.  Logically this presumption applies just as much to children depicted in child abuse material as it does to children who are abused in other circumstances.  Further, such children have to live with the knowledge that their images will remain on the internet forever.  I therefore presume that all the children depicted in the thousands of images and videos possessed by you have been harmed by your perpetuation of the trade of child abuse material. 
Plea of Guilty, co-operation and remorse
61	I turn to your plea of guilty, cooperation and remorse.  As I have already said you were charged on 7 January 2020.  You indicated that you would plead guilty to the charges before me at a Committal Mention on 21 August 2020.  This is an early plea of guilty and you are entitled to a discount in your sentence for that fact.  In so doing you have facilitated the course of justice and taken legal responsibility for your crimes.  This is particularly valuable in the current environment where COVID-19 has placed the criminal justice system under considerable strain.  The fact the case against you was undoubtedly strong does not detract from the utilitarian value of your early plea of guilty.  
62	Ms Parsons submitted that you are entitled to an even greater discount in sentence on account of your remorse, although she conceded there was scope for you to gain further insight into the effect of your offending on your victims.  She relied on your expressions of remorse to police, Ms Ferrari and 
Ms Lofthouse.  Your mother who has provided a character reference for you, also reports that you continually apologise.
63	The Courts have made clear that true remorse is not anxiety at the prospect of being punished nor simply regret.  True remorse involves genuine contrition and a desire to atone for one's behaviour. 
64	I have already indicated, that in my view you minimised your conduct in your accounts to police and Ms Ferrari, a fact which tends to undermine any claim to genuine remorse.  Similarly, the sheer volume of child abuse material in your possession, the sustained and repeated nature of your offending and your prior convictions, all tend to militate against such a finding. You told Ms Ferrari that you were extremely embarrassed and ashamed, and that you understood the detriment caused to Ms Pana's children, particularly Aubrey.  I am not persuaded that you do truly understand the damage you have caused to those children or to all the other children depicted in the child abuse material in your possession or viewed by you and who you did not mention.  Nevertheless, I am prepared to accept that you do have some remorse for your conduct, albeit limited, and I take that into account in your favour.
Your character and risk of reoffending
65	I turn to your character and risk of reoffending.  You have a number of prior court appearances in Queensland in the Magistrates’, District and Supreme Courts.  Your Magistrates Court offences relate mainly to drug use, but there are also dishonesty matters and most recently, on 19 June 2018, offences of distributing a prohibited visual recording (a state offence) and using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence (a Commonwealth offence).  In the District Court you were dealt with for assault in 2009, which must have been of some seriousness to be in that court.  In the Supreme Court in 2008 you were dealt with for supplying drugs to a minor and carnal knowledge.  
66	Having read the sentencing remarks for the Supreme Court matter I am satisfied it is quite dissimilar to your current offending.  You were 18 at the time of the offending and it was accepted that you believed the 14-year-old complainants were 15 about to turn 16.  The matter is still concerning however, because even though you told the judge:
'I just want to apologise for all this and yes, I'm just sorry about all that's happened and I've learnt my lesson'
you still breached the probation order that you were placed on.  That fact, as well as your offending generally indicates an attitude of continue disobedience of the law.  In that regard your 2018 court appearance is particularly concerning.  The summary for the state offence indicates that during 2016 you uploaded to a variety of pornographic websites video clips of your former partner engaging in consensual sex acts with you.  She discovered the video clips when she searched her own name via Google.  You initially denied the offending and then told police you were motivated by revenge.  You were sentenced to 2 years' probation for that offence and 12 months imprisonment for the Commonwealth offence but were released immediately upon entering into a recognisance to be of good behaviour for two years.  
67	The fact you were prepared to distribute the image of Aubrey with her genitals exposed to complete strangers on the internet after having done something similar before reflects very badly on you.  Moreover, the fact you were not deterred by the sentence imposed in 2018 from offending again in any way does not bode well for your future.
68	Ms Ferrari assessed you overall to be a moderate risk of future sexual offending.  She considered the risk might be reduced with appropriate treatment.  
69	Notwithstanding that you have the continuing support of your mother, having regard to the foregoing, I would assess your prospects of rehabilitation as guarded at best.  It is to be hoped that tailored sex offender treatment, might assist you.
The burden of imprisonment
70	In determining the appropriate sentence, I need to consider how a term of imprisonment will be likely to impact you, particularly given your various mental impairments.  Because you have already been in custody for some time, it is possible to make that assessment partly based on how you have coped so far.  
71	According to Ms Lofthouse your intellectual disability is not likely to deteriorate in custody.  However both she and Ms Ferrari were of the view that there was a risk, in fact a likelihood according to Ms Ferrari, that your mental health, including your ADHD, would deteriorate.  Further they both considered that you would suffer more in prison than a person without your particular difficulties.
72	On the other hand, your mother reports that since being in prison, you have begun to reform, you have obtained your white card and are trying to put your life back on track.  
73	I am not satisfied that your intellectual and psychological issues are likely to deteriorate in custody.  However, I am prepared to accept that a term of imprisonment will be harder for you than other prisoners not suffering from those conditions. I also take into account that this is your first time in prison and that any term of imprisonment will be harder during the pandemic.  Whilst the worry of contracting the virus in prison has probably abated with time, the curtailment of various activities and programs, the reduction or suspension of personal visits and the occasional lockdowns are all additional burdens.
Purposes of Sentencing
74	The general purposes for which a sentence may be imposed are just punishment, deterrence, rehabilitation, denunciation and protection of the community.  A custodial sentence must only be imposed as a last resort but is conceded to be the only appropriate disposition in your case.  That said I am obliged not to impose a more severe sentence than is necessary to achieve the sentencing purposes.  
75	Further, when there are multiple charges, as here, the total effective sentence must not offend the principle of totality.  What that means is that you must not be punished any more than is proportionate and appropriate to your overall criminality.  This is particularly relevant in this case, since, although you have committed a number of distinct and serious crimes, they were largely overlapping.  I have sought to ensure that your overall sentence is proportionate, by directing in effect, a large amount of concurrency.
76	Without detracting from the other sentencing purposes, appellate courts throughout Australia have repeatedly emphasised the paramount importance of general deterrence in sentencing for offences involving the online sexual exploitation of children including child pornography.  These offences are internationally prevalent and hard to detect, given the anonymity afforded by the internet.  There is an increasing need to protect children from online sexual predators and sexual abuse.  
77	Further, your prior convictions and, in particular, your prior conviction for distribution of a prohibited visual recording, directly engage the principles of specific deterrence and community protection.  
78	Overlaid on these important sentencing principles, however, is the need for your punishment to be just in light of your impaired mental functioning.  Your disability reduces the significance of denunciation to the sentencing process and requires some moderation of the principles of general and specific deterrence, although they remain important.  It is also important not to crush your prospects of rehabilitation as ultimately community protection is best achieved by your rehabilitation.  
79	After carefully weight the competing factors in my view only a sentence involving a non-parole period is appropriate for your offending.  However, I consider that a relatively short non-parole period is appropriate in light of your mental impairments and the desirability of enhancing your rehabilitative prospects.  
Sentence
80	Now, I am not going to ask you to stand because of the fact that you are appearing via a video link, but I am just going to announce my sentence.  And as I go through the sentences, because of the fact they are Commonwealth sentences I have to express a time at which they commence.  I will go through them slowly and also indicate a running total effectively, of what the total effective sentence is.
81	On Count 3, I convict and sentence you to 36 months' imprisonment, so that is 3 years, which is to commence today;
82	On Count 7, I convict and sentence you to 30 months' imprisonment, which is to commence 10 months after today.  That brings the total imprisonment up to 40 months;
83	On Count 5, I convict and sentence you to 24 months' imprisonment that is 2 years, which is to commence 20 months after today, that brings the running total to 44 months.
84	On Count 2, I convict and sentence you to 12 months' imprisonment, which is to commence 34 months after today, that brings the running total up to 46 months.  
85	On Count 1, I convict and sentence you to 
12 month's imprisonment, which is to commence 35 months after today, bringing the running total up to 47 months' imprisonment.  
86	On Count 4, I convict and sentence you to 12 months' imprisonment which is to commence 36 months' after today, bringing the tunning total up to 48 months' imprisonment. 
87	On Count 6, I convict and sentence you to 12 months' imprisonment, which is to commence 37 months after today, bringing the running total to 49 months' imprisonment.  
88	So the total effective sentence is 49 months' imprisonment, or 4 years and one month and in respect of that sentence I set a non-parole period of two years and six months.
89	HER HONOUR:  Can I just ask what the pre-sentence detention is?  I think you're answering Ms Parsons but I can't hear you?
90	MS PARSONS:  Sorry, Your Honour, if I could just have one more moment please.  I apologise for the delay.
91	HER HONOUR:  Yes.
92	MS PARSONS:  Your Honour, that's 422 days, not including today, by my count.
93	HER HONOUR:  Ms Skoblar, do you agree with that?
94	MS SKOBLAR:  I agree with that figure, Your Honour.
95	HER HONOUR:  I declare that you have served a total of 422 days pre-sentence detention, not including today, in respect of this sentence and order that this declaration be entered in the records of the court and that the period be deducted administratively.  
96	Mr Sloan, I am required to explain the meaning of a non-parole period to you.  The fact I have fixed a non-parole period of 2 years and 6 months, does not mean that you will be released then.  Rather it is the earliest date at which you may be released.  It is up to the relevant authority as to whether you are released at that time, or at any time before you have served the full sentence of four years and one month.  
97	If you are released before 4 years, one month, you should know the following:
•	You will still be undergoing sentence, but you will be serving it in the community on parole instead of in prison;
•	 You will be released subject to conditions;
•	The conditions may be changed or your parole may be revoked;
•	If you breach the conditions of parole your parole may be revoked and you will be liable to serve the rest of our sentence. 
Discount for pleading guilty
98	I have already told you that you get a reduced sentence for pleading guilty.  If you had not pleased guilty to the charges and been found guilty by a jury, I would have sentenced you to a total effective sentence of 5 years' and 6 months, with a non-parole period of 4 years.
Sex Offender Registration
99	I now have to tell you something about the sex offender registration.  You have been found guilty of more than three class 2 offences within the meaning of the Sex Offender's Registration Act [2004] they being Charges 1-6 inclusive.  This means that you will be required to comply with the reporting obligations under that Act for the rest of your life.  
100	The Sex Offender's Registration Act provides that you must be given a notice setting out your reporting obligations under the Act and what will happen if you do not comply with those obligations.  I will ensure that you will be provided with that notice.  It will be sent to you whilst you are in custody.  Even though you do not have a copy of that document at the moment, I will give you an idea of what is involved on being a registered sex offender.  
101	You are required to report to Victoria Police within seven days of being released from custody and there is a telephone number of the reporting document that you have to call once you are released.  You will then be required to go to your nominated police station each year to make an annual report.  You have to give details of your addresses, occupation, vehicles, internet provider, social media, usernames, passwords and the like.  You have to notify of changes in your personal details.  You have to notify of intended travel interstate and seek permission to travel overseas.  It is all set out in the document that you will receive.  You should know that failure to comply with your reporting obligations is a criminal offence.  So, if you do not comply you will be charged and you will be brought back to court and dealt with for that offence.
Ancillary orders
102	Now the last remaining matter is forfeiture.  The prosecution have not sort an order for forfeiture but they do seek your consent to forfeiture of various items.  In other words, they seek that you sign a document indicating that you consent to the forfeiture and destruction of various items, being the Samsung Galaxy mobile phone, your Apple iPad, silver-coloured USB thumb drive, another 
grey-coloured Alexa thumb drive, a green-coloured Alexa thumb-drive and a zip-lock bag containing 8.2 grams of cannabis.
103	So again, I will have the document sent to you.  Ms Parsons, have you discussed that document with Mr Sloan?
104	MS PARSONS:  That has been discussed with Mr Sloan and he provided - and he has provided consent, or a willingness to sign any relevant orders in relation forfeiture.
105	HER HONOUR:  All right, thank you.  I'll have that document sent to you 
Mr Sloan.  So, Mr Sloan, as I said at the outset my remarks were going to have to be relatively long and sometimes technical.  But the bottom line is that I have sentenced you to a term of imprisonment of 4 years and 1 month, with a 
non-parole period of 2 years and 6 months.  Do you understand that?
106	OFFENDER:  Yes, yes Your Honour.
107	HER HONOUR:  Now, have counsel, in particular, Ms Skoblar, had an opportunity to make sure that my arithmetic in terms of the sentence is correct.
108	MS SKOBLAR:  Yes Your Honour we've looked at that and it appears correct to me.
109	HER HONOUR:  All right, unless there's any other matters, then I'll adjourn this court.
110	MS PARSONS:  No matters Your Honour if it please the court.
111	HER HONOUR:  All right, thank you.
112	MS SKOBLAR:  If Your Honour pleases.
113	HER HONOUR:  Yes.
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