Child sex pervert who harassed young girls claims he was 'addicted to collecting' sick videos and was 'trying to fit in' with online paedophiles
- Michael Wayne Young, 31, was caught with 8,000 images of child exploitation
- Young's lawyer said he was not aroused by the images, he only collected them
- The night shift worker also pleaded guilty to grooming three girls for sex
A child sex predator who groomed underage girls claims he became addicted to collecting videos of babies being abused to fit in with the online paedophile scene.
Michael Wayne Young, 31, was arrested in Adelaide in August last year when police found 8,000 images and videos of infants being sexually assaulted on his computers.
Young's defence lawyer Gerry Bowen last month claimed the night shift worker didn't pose a threat to the community because he was not aroused the materials, he only collected it.
Mr Bowen said his client 'got into a chat group and got deeper and deeper' into the world of child exploitation.
Michael Wayne Young, 31, was arrested in Adelaide in August last year when police found 8,000 images and videos of infants being sexually assaulted on his computers (stock image)
'He's a socially anxious and repressed man, and [the internet] was the only place he expressed himself with such extreme verbiage,' he told the court, according to The Advertiser.
'Once he found himself viewing this material and communicating on Kik and Skype, he became less inhibited and desensitised.'
Share this article
But the argument was rejected by Judge Liesl Chapman in the District Court on Wednesday.
She voiced concerns that Young sought help for his anxiety in the ten months since his arrest, but not his child exploitation addiction.
'You had over 2,000 image files and 6,000 video files, and you say the material did not arouse you … I consider that to be untrue,' she said.
Young pleaded guilty to multiple counts of owning and circulating child exploitation material, and grooming three underage girls - age 13 and 15 - for sex (stock image)
'These were real children, incapable of protecting themselves … you have a demonstrable sexual interest in children but I don't consider you have any insight into your offending.'
Young pleaded guilty to multiple counts of owning and circulating child exploitation material, and grooming three underage girls - age 13 and 15 - for sex.
Judge Chapman described his online conversations with the teenagers as 'uninhibited and extreme'.
She also said his predatory attempts to meet up with them in real life was a 'gross power imbalance'.
Young was sentenced to a total of six years and five months in jail and will not be eligible for parole until 2023.
