Child pornographer gets 3 years

THE MOTHERS of two children who were indecently photograhed for a man’s personal pornography collection had mixed feelings about his three-year sentence, delivered in Gladstone District Court yesterday.

Jeffrey Frank Chadwick, 41, pleaded guilty to a series of child pornography charges, including the indecent treatment of children under 12 years of age.

He was sentenced to 3 years in jail but will be eligible for parole after serving 12 months.

The mothers, who cannot be named for child protection reasons, said that altough they were relieved to see him locked away, that they wished he had received a harsher sentence.

"After what we’ve been through, and what our children have been through, I can’t believe he could be out in just one year," one woman said.

"But I feel safer going to the local shopping centre and knowing that, for twelve months, I won’t bump into him."

Crown prosecutor Joshua Phillips told the court that, on several unknown dates between Jan 1 2007 and Dec 1 2008, Chadwick had taken indecent photos of children at his house in Gladstone.

Seven children were involved in the conduct, and were the friends of Chadwick’s own children.

"You tell your kids about stranger danger, but I can’t tell you how devastating it was to know that I was allowing my kids to go and play at this man’s house," a mother of one little girl said.

In a transcribed interview with police, excerpts of which were referred to by Mr Phillips in court, Chadwick admitted to "having a problem" and that he had taken the pictures of his children’s friends, "for his own enjoyment."

He did not say what that enjoyment entailed.

He also admitted to cropping the photos to focus on particular parts of the children’s bodies.

He said that he would not take similar photographs of his own children.

District Court Judge Wall Q.C. said described Chadwick’s behaviour as "disgraceful."

"I think that your actions were predatory, pre-meditated and persistent," he said. "Your offending was prolonged, ongoing, and involved seven different children that had been entrusted to your care."