A Canberra man who had of tens of thousands of child pornography files on his computers initially claimed he downloaded the images for research purposes.
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David William Walshe later admitted he accessed the material for his own sexual gratification and was sentenced in the ACT Supreme Court on Wednesday to nearly three years behind bars.
Walshe, 65, was charged as part of a federal police crackdown on child pornography being distributed through the online peer-to-peer file sharing network eMule in June 2015.
Officers searched Walshe's electronic devices after they downloaded 18 images and eight videos depicting child pornography that were linked to his IP address during the investigation.
Police seized five hard drives with thousands of child pornography and child exploitation images and arrested Walshe in September.
In an interview with police, he said he was aware hundreds of child pornography files would be found on his computers and admitted he knew it was illegal.
Walshe said he viewed the material as research because he thought it was "an interesting field" and offered an insight into how people in different societies behaved.
He was charged and later pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography and using a carriage service to transmit the material.
It took police digital forensics experts months to analyse and classify tens of thousands of images and video files, and time constraints meant they weren't able to go through it all.
They found more than 86,000 files in total but an interim report prepared for the court in March focused on more than 18,000 unique images and videos.
The majority of those files were images in the lowest category of child pornography and ranged through to the most heinous type.
The examination of Walshe's devices also revealed he had made internet searches for terms including "paedo", "fondle", "erection", "incest", "molested" and "sex education".
In his sentencing remarks, Justice John Burns said the fact the bulk of files were in the lowest category was no indication they were innocuous or mild in their content, and noted the wide range of material seized.
He said the primary focus for sentencing was the type of material and degree of depravity, rather than the number of files.
Justice Burns accepted Walshe's submission that he was unaware of the extent of the images he downloaded and hadn't examined each one individually was possible, but said it wasn't a mitigating factor.
"I am satisfied that the searches and the search terms used show you were looking for child pornography," he said.
He said the large volume of material depicted a range of depraved and sexual activities involving a large number of child victims and it had been accessed over many months.
Justice Burns categorised Walshe's crimes as mid-range seriousness for offences of their type.
He said while Walshe's initial claim he accessed the child pornography for research purposes had been an attempt to minimise his culpability, he had since accepted responsibility and admitted he accessed the material for his own sexual gratification.
The court heard Walshe's childhood had been difficult and he'd been exposed to criminal activity, drug and alcohol use, violence, mental illness and abuse from a young age.
Justice Burns noted a pre-sentence report author had described Walshe as defensive, immature, petulant and grandiose at times, but said he was not at high risk of reoffending.
He noted Walshe had shown some insight into his crimes and was satisfied he had reasonable prospects of rehabilitation, particularly if he accessed treatment, but said imprisonment was the only appropriate sentence.
Walshe was sentenced to two years and 10 months imprisonment, with 19 months to be served in full-time custody. He will be released in April next year.
