A South Hobart man has been sentenced to two years in prison for possessing over 5,000 child abuse and bestiality material files.
The 69-year-old’s offending came to light following an investigation into a report from the United States’ National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
He was arrested in September 2022 after being linked to illegal online activity.
Officers from the Tasmanian Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (JACET) subsequently executed a search warrant at his home, where they found child abuse and bestiality material on multiple DVDs and electronic devices.
Over 300 DVDs with handwritten titles were seized, containing a total of 5,559 child abuse files and bestiality material.
The child abuse files had been screen-captured from the dark web, authorities said.
The man was sentenced to two years behind bars with a non-parole period of 12 months.
Upon release, he will be placed on a good behaviour bond for 12 months and on the Child Protection Register for two years.
AFP Detective Acting Sergeant Madeline Kennedy said anyone who viewed images and videos of children or animals being sexually abused was committing a crime.
“Children are not commodities to be used for the abhorrent gratification of sexual predators and the demand for videos and images depicting abuse contributes to the physical harm and torture of innocent children,” she said.
