A "shy and socially awkward" Defence employee has been sentenced to two months behind bars for possessing more than 2000 child pornography images and videos.
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The material found in the home of Gerard David Falzon, 54, was described by his own barrister as "confronting and distressing".
Forty child victims, aged between two and 17, were pictured in the 2247 files, a handful of which were in the most heinous category.
Police raided the home of Falzon, a 20-year security-cleared employee of the Department of Defence, in 2013.
They seized six devices and found 2206 child pornography images and 41 videos.
The Commonwealth prosecutor thanked Chief Justice Helen Murrell for viewing a sample of the different categories of material in court on Thursday.
"I know it's not a pleasant task," he said.
Falzon, the court heard, had lived a largely solitary life. He had lived single and alone for many years, with few friends. He was teased at school and lacked the confidence to seek out real sexual contact or intimacy.
Falzon gave evidence on Thursday, conceding he had viewed child pornography material, mainly of prepubescent girls, for a period of 10 years.
"I wanted to stop and, for a period of time, maybe a year, I stopped and kind of went back," he said.
There was no evidence that he paid anyone for the material or shared it with anyone else.
Chief Justice Murrell said he acted alone, but noted that such actions fuelled the market for child pornography.
Falzon was sentenced to 13 months imprisonment, and will serve two months behind bars full-time, before being released on a two-year good behaviour order.
He was ordered to undergo treatment and programs as recommended, and continue the counselling he has been receiving to try to gain insight into his offending.
The Crown earlier argued Falzon had shown little insight or remorse, appearing to be more concerned with the impact of the discovery of his crime than his victims.
Falzon told the court on Thursday that publicity about his crime had alerted his parents to the case, something he had been "highly fearful" of since the police raid.
"I wanted to try and protect them against what I had done," he said.
He said he had known what he was doing was wrong, but could not stop.
"Even before the search, I felt kind of ashamed of myself, often saying to myself 'you shouldn't be doing this'," he said.
