A 66-year-old Canberra man was found in possession of more than 280-thousand pieces of child abuse material. He has been sentenced to nine years in jail.
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00:00Michael Stanley Cooper was arrested last year after police officers executed a search warrant at his residence.
00:07There, they found multiple devices, including laptops, hard drives and storage discs,
00:13which contained hundreds of thousands of pieces of child abuse material.
00:17Court documents revealed the material depicted at least 1,200 child victims and was collated over almost a decade.
00:25Justice David Mossop described the large collection as having involved a high degree of planning and organisation,
00:31while prosecutors argued it displayed a high level of depravity.
00:35The judge also acknowledged Cooper's autism diagnosis had contributed to his social isolation.
00:41The attractiveness of collecting and organising the material has been contributed to by his disability, Justice Mossop said.
00:50The ACT Supreme Court heard today the only appropriate sentence would be a term of imprisonment.
00:55Cooper pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including possessing and distributing child abuse material.
01:01He will be eligible for parole in 2028.