The 26-year-old Watson man had pleaded guilty to two counts of using a carriage service to view child pornography in the ACT Magistrates Court in March.

He was committed to the ACT Supreme Court for sentencing and appeared before Justice John Burns on Thursday.

The court heard the man visited almost 60 child pornography websites between January and October last year.

Police facts showed he also looked for child pornography images and information about people who struggled with child pornography, through search engines.

He handed himself in and confessed to police in October, telling them he could not rule out offending against children.

In handing down his sentence, Mr Burns said the offender began to access child pornography as a distraction from the stress of work and daily life.

He had learning difficulties and had struggled with mental health problems.

There were also troubling issues surrounding his sexuality and he had been sexually abused as a child, the court heard.

One report presented to Mr Burns indicated the man posed a low to moderate risk of general re-offending, while another report said there was a high risk of sexual offending.

Mr Burns said such offences usually attracted a jail term, and ''the evil of child pornography'' required courts to provide a disincentive for offenders.

But he said the number of images the man accessed was comparatively small, he had expressed genuine remorse, and his confession to police indicated a true desire for change.

He said the man, who had worked in the public service since 2009, had been suspended from his job pending the outcome of the charges.

Mr Burns said he strongly recommended the man be able to keep his job.

''I believe that it is in the best interests of yourself and the broader community if you remain employed,'' he said.

He ordered the man to pay a $500 fine for each offence, and to continue psychological treatment while he served a two-year good behaviour order.