Shannon David Degioannis, 39, was convicted of having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl and two charges of creating and possessing child exploitation material.

As a previously convicted sex offender, Degioannis was also sentenced for failing to report unsupervised contact with a minor to the police.

The girl lived with Degioannis for a few months in 2017 and during that time the pair engaged in sexual intercourse and they regularly used ice and heroin together.

Degioannis was aware the girl was underage and told her to tell his friends that she was 19 years old.

He also filmed the pair engaging in intercourse, in some of the videos the girl was crying and upset and included Degioannis being verbally aggressive towards her.

At one point in a video he stated he had spent "three grand" on drugs for the victim in the previous two-and-a-half weeks.

This material along with other child exploitation material, totalling 132 images and 27 videos, were found on his phone and computer.

The court heard Degioannis had suffered a dysfunctional childhood and at age 17 had lived on the streets before joining the circus.

Degioannis was previously convicted for similar offences where he had sexual intercourse with a minor, which he filmed.

In her sentencing remarks handed down on Friday, Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson said the court recognised the offences committed by Degioannis will have a significant impact on the victim and the sentence must acknowledge that.

She also said deterrence was an important factor in sentencing in this case.

Degioannis was sentenced to a total of 10 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of seven years.

He has been in custody since September 2017 and he will first be eligible for release in 2024.