A Queanbeyan man apologised to the police officers who had to look at the child abuse material on his phone after a Google upload alerted investigators to his illegal activity.
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Jarn Seglenieks, 20, pleaded guilty in Queanbeyan Local Court last week to a charge of possessing child abuse material.
He is also accused of producing child abuse material, but his lawyer told the court the police officer in charge of the investigation had informed her this charge was laid in error.
Documents tendered to the court show the Australian Federal Police received a report from the US National Center for Missing & Exploited Children last December.
The report described an Australian-based user having uploaded 39 files, all of which contained child abuse material, to a Google platform on July 24 last year.
The matter was eventually referred, in April, to the NSW Police child exploitation internet unit and investigators from the force's Monaro district.
Their investigations revealed an internet protocol address registered to Seglenieks' home had accessed the relevant Google account on the day in question.
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Police obtained a search warrant for Seglenieks' home and executed it on June 29, but he was at work in the ACT.
After being alerted to the investigation by his mother, he attended Queanbeyan Police Station and officers seized his phone.
Seglenieks was upfront with police, telling them he had "accessed illegal stuff" the previous year.
"I knew it was bad and told my mum about it," he said. "I'm addicted to porn."
Asked to elaborate on the nature of the "illegal stuff", he said it was "photos of young girls".
The 20-year-old subsequently accompanied police to his home, where officers seized various electronics and copied the contents of his Google Drive.
In response to further questions, he told police they would find child abuse material on his phone.
According to court documents, he said he had uploaded "definitely illegal" images of girls under 16 to Google Drive for reasons he still could not comprehend.
Investigating officers later completed a forensic review of the seized phone, finding six images containing child abuse material on the device.
They then contacted Seglenieks and asked him to participate in an interview, but he declined and apologised for his offending.
"I'm sorry that you had to see those photos on my phone," Seglenieks told police in early August.
"I know it isn't good and no-one should have to see them."
Following Seglenieks' guilty plea last week, magistrate Roger Clisdell listed his case for sentencing on November 21.
Sergeant Breanna McLean indicated to the court that police would keep prosecuting the matter, with the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions not electing to take the case on.
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