A 65-year-old Geelong man found with an “abhorrent” collection of more than 64,000 child abuse images has been sentenced.
Frank Varga, 65, has pleaded guilty to possessing and accessing child abuse material after a raid on his Corio residence found thousands of images of underage children performing “abhorrent” sexual acts, in what Magistrate John Bentley described as “dreadful stuff”.
Varga, a married former factory worker, made full admissions when arrested by detectives after the search warrant was executed on March 15, 2021.
The material was discovered on several devices and was “abhorrent”, according to Magistrated John Bentley.
The Geelong Magistrates Court was told the youngest child shown in the material was under 10 years-old.
Police prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Kylie Jane told the court of all the material downloaded, 6640 images were listed as category one and involved children under 13.
They included images depicting a prepubescent girl performing sex acts on a male and subjected to anal sex, and a child engaged in sexual intercourse with a prepubescent boy.
The court also heard Varga was in possession of 40,204 category two and 17,520 category three listed materials.
He was spared a prison sentence at the Geelong Magistrates Court on Friday. Picture: Alan Barber
“That is an awful lot of child pornography,” Magistrate Bentley said.
Varga’s defence lawyer, Patrick Byrne, said his client had only begun seeking child pornography material after losing his job.
Mr Byrne told the court a combination of alcohol abuse, legal pornography and “a flow on from this is bestiality” had led to his client discovering child porn.
He said Varga “saw himself being abused” in the material he was downloading and it was a form of “self-abuse”, as outlined in a psychological report.
Mr Byrne said his client “empathized” with the children in the child pornography he was viewing.
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Mr Bentley argued the explanation was a way of Varga “minimising his behaviour.”
“He had to download 70,000 images to come to that conclusion?” he said.
“At some point he searches it out.”
Mr Bentley told Varga, who has no prior criminal history, he would be spared a term of imprisonment and placed on a Community Corrections Order.
“These offences are very serious, they are abhorrent,” Mr Bentley said.
“The vast number of images that you have saved is beyond belief.
“I was considering a jail sentence. I will have you accessed.
“If I send you to jail I don’t think you can get the treatment in jail that you need.”
He will be placed on the sex offender registry for the next 15 years.
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