Former NSW Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Child Abuse Material Charges
Luke Braden Taylor, a 31-year-old former constable with the New South Wales Police Force, has pleaded guilty to handling child abuse material on five separate occasions over a two-and-a-half-year period.
The material included a folder of more than 19 gigabytes containing approximately 1,000 images described by the crown prosecutor as "highly depraved." Taylor first encountered such material while working on cases as a police officer on Sydney's Northern Beaches.
In court, Taylor testified that his actions were motivated by curiosity, not sexual gratification, and that he viewed only a small number of files before deleting the app each time.
Crown prosecutor Edward McGinness argued that Taylor's actions could not be explained solely by curiosity and that Taylor had not adequately explored his sexuality to rule out an interest in children.
Judge Karen Robinson warned Taylor that he may face a custodial sentence.
The court heard Taylor accessed the material via the messaging app Kik, clicking links to folders containing sexual imagery and videos of children, including infants as young as 12 weeks old.
He stated he never downloaded the files and felt sick each time he viewed them, which led him to stop temporarily before curiosity brought him back.
Taylor is scheduled to be sentenced on June 19.