A paedophile with over 7000 horror images on his computer has avoided jail time after claiming he had an addiction to child pornography.
Mitchell Rowland Cornell, 24, had his laptop seized by police after they raided his home in Buderim, Queensland, in August 2017.
Officers found four videos and thousands of images of child abuse.
The files found in Cornell’s computer contained sickening phrases such as ‘lick me please’ and ‘rape me’.
The images included infants with semen on them and young teenagers being penetrated, reports Sunshine Coast Daily.
Cornell, who said he was attracted to children, confessed he would masturbate when looking at the images.
He admitted to having sexualised conversations with children online but stopped because ‘it was too much effort’.
He had a folder titled his ‘favourite’ images but they were deleted when police began investigating his case.
Cornell pleaded guilty in Maroochydore District Court to distributing, soliciting and possessing child exploitation material between January 2013 and August 2017.
A majority of the child pornography images depicted sexual activity between children or solo masturbation by a child, referred to as category two.
Other images fell under the category of penetrative sexual activity between adults and children (category four), sadism or bestiality (category five) and animated or virtual porn (category six).
Defence barrister Simon Lewis wrote a report to the court statingCornell’s sexual attraction towards children began when he was 14 but there was ‘no evidence he poses a risk to children’.
Mr Lewis said Cornell was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and paedophilic disorder by a psychologist.
The barrister added Cornell’s autism meant his understanding of right and wrong was ‘severely disrupted’.
Judge Gary Long sentenced Cornell to 18 months in jail, suspended immediately for an operational period of three years.