Gregory Coupland asked if he could hug his family members before being placed behind bars for a second time over charges relating to explicit child abuse material.
The ex-teacher had been living in the community after being jailed for similar offences in 2012 and was a registered sex offender when police visited his home on October 9, 2022.
Asking to see his mobile phone, officers located 189 images of children, mostly pubescent boys, in sexual poses or showing their genitals and a further 3937 images of half-naked boys in swimming costumes.
On October 20, police executed a warrant, searching Coupland's phone as well as three cloud accounts, to find 22 further child abuse images of naked boys.
Officers noted around 11,000 files had been deleted from these accounts in the week or so prior to the search.
On Friday, the 53-year-old was sentenced in Penrith District Court to a total term of four years and six months.
Judge Christine Mendes allowed a 25 per cent discount due to Coupland's early guilty pleas to both possessing and controlling child abuse material.
However because he had been convicted of similar offences before, the lowest sentence she could impose was four years.
She quoted a 2009 judgment which said the existence of this type of explicit material did not exist without the exploitation and abuse of children, typically in disadvantaged countries.
"The damage done to the children may be, and undoubtedly often is, profound," she said.
"Those who make use of the product feed upon that exploitation and abuse, and upon the poverty of the children the subject of the material."
Judge Mendes was only able to sentence Coupland on the material found on his phone and cloud accounts, and could not take into account the deleted files.
She said the 189 images police located was not insignificant, but was still modest compared to other cases involving child abuse material.
The images were also less depraved than for others brought before the courts, the judge said, noting there was no evidence of cruelty, physical harm or actual sexual intercourse with adults or other children.
While the material was used for Coupland's own sexual gratification, he did not send the images onto others, the judge found.
The ex-teacher, who operated his own lawn-mowing and garden maintenance business before being placed back behind bars, had shown real remorse, apologising for the pain and suffering he caused by viewing this type of material.
Diagnosed with psoriasis, the 53-year-old had a poor body image and a fixation on what life could have been like without the skin condition.
This mental state may have contributed to his interest in child abuse material, Judge Mendes said.
Unable to form any real long-term relationships outside of his family, he used sex as a way of coping during bouts of depression and anxiety and relapsed in 2022, the judge found.
Coupland had been a live-in carer for his elderly parents who were in court on Friday and described him as caring and helpful.
In imposing a non-parole period of two years and two months, Judge Mendes noted that Coupland had taken real strides to addressing his mental health issues through therapy when out on bail.
“I'd encourage you to complete whatever programs are available to you in custody. I wish you all the best,” she told him.
Coupland tearfully hugged his parents and other family members before being led away by the courthouse sheriffs.
He will first be eligible for parole on February 15, 2027.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
