An offender claims he went down the "very deep and perpetual rabbit hole" of watching child abuse material because adult pornography grew "monotonous".
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Taylor Cameron Dean, 24, told the ACT Supreme Court on Monday he used to watch between four and seven hours of pornographic material per day.
He said while he "absolutely" knew child abuse material was wrong, it provided "greater stimuli" when he became sick of "typical" pornography.
Dean, who moved to Canberra as a teenager, is awaiting sentencing over child abuse material offences committed between May 2019 and November 2020.
The court heard his crimes included possessing child abuse material and transmitting it by uploading objectionable files to the Cloud.
When he took the stand on Monday, the 24-year-old described a childhood in which he witnessed domestic violence and experienced bullying at school.
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Dean told the court he had started watching pornography when he was about 12.
He said child abuse material had become part of his viewing habits at a time he felt "absolutely terrible" about his workplace and found it difficult to make friends.
Depressed and with nothing to do a lot of the time, Dean told the court he used the disgraceful material to "just drown everything out".
He said he had considered seeking professional help, but feelings of guilt and shame stopped him from doing so until after police searched his home.
Dean added that he had watched "zero" child abuse material since the police raid in 2020.
It was late that year, after his offending ceased, that he met wife Hannah.
Mrs Dean also gave evidence on Monday, telling the court of her various ailments and expressing fear of what would happen if her husband was jailed.
Among other things, she said she would not be able to afford to meet the costs of her rent, medication and health insurance.
"I don't know what I would do," Mrs Dean told the court.
Dean's lawyer, Edward Chen, told Acting Justice Peter Berman he would be asking for the 24-year-old to be sentenced to an intensive correction order.
Federal prosecutor Cecilia Pascoe said the Crown would argue this option - more harsh than any sentence other than full-time jail - was "not within range".
Acting Justice Berman ultimately adjourned to await the preparation of a report that will include an assessment of Dean's suitability for an intensive correction order.
He had earlier refused to view samples of the child abuse material Dean possessed, saying court documents adequately conveyed its "awfulness".
The judge also said the victims would not be comforted if they learned judges were "poring over" graphic images of them being sexually abused.
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