A former Department of Education IT technician who hoarded child exploitation material while cleaning school computers has avoided jail, despite police finding hundreds of illegal files on his personal devices.
Justin James Ray, 35, was given a 15-month suspended sentence after pleading guilty to possessing 855 child exploitation images and videos discovered at his home.
The Supreme Court of Tasmania heard Ray’s role involved providing daily IT support to staff and students across multiple schools, as well as wiping data from department computers before disposal.
It was during this ‘cleaning’ process that Ray first encountered child exploitation material and made the decision to keep it, though he also later downloaded additional material at home.
“I am told, because of your intense interest in computers, you fell into the habit of saving much of the data that you were cleaning from the department computers onto your own equipment,” Justice Tamara Jago said.
The court was told Ray routinely saved material from the machines, ranging from movies and music to legal photographs, along with the prohibited content.
Police raided his home in March 2023 after online intelligence flagged his IP address for downloading child exploitation material.
They found the images and videos on his computer, hard drive and phone.
Justice Jago described some of the content as “demeaning and depraved”, including the sexual abuse of very young children and material involving an animal.
The material was organised and stored in a way that indicated “personal interest”, the court heard.
Ray was dismissed once the charges became public. Justice Jago said his conviction meant a return to government work was “unlikely” and would heavily restrict his career in the IT sector.
With no prior convictions, he began psychological treatment as soon as charges were laid and has since attended regular cognitive behavioural therapy.
Under the suspended sentence, Ray will avoid jail provided he commits no offences punishable by imprisonment for two years.
He will also be listed on the sex offenders register for five years.
