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Brisbane man first person to be sentenced for possessing child-like sex dolls
By Cloe Read
A Brisbane man has become the first person in the state to be sentenced for possessing child-like sex dolls under Commonwealth laws targeting child abuse related offences.
The 46-year-old Riverhills man was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, to be released immediately on a two-year $2000 good behaviour bond, after police found six child-like sex dolls in his house.
One of the child-like sex dolls that was found by police in the man’s Riverhills home. Credit: Australian Federal Police
Police also found a laptop at the house that contained child abuse material.
Investigators were alerted after Australian Border Force officers detected a child-like sex doll in a shipment from China on January 20, 2020.
The man was found guilty on Wednesday of two counts of possessing a child-like sex doll or other object that resembles a child under 18, attempting to possess a child-like sex doll, and possessing child exploitation material.
A Brisbane man has become the first person in the state to be sentenced for possessing child-like sex dolls under Commonwealth laws targeting child abuse related offences. Credit: Australian Federal Police
He was the first person in Queensland to be charged and sentenced for the offence, which came into effect in September 2019 as part of the Combatting Child Sexual Exploitation Legislation Amendment Act 2019.
Research by the Australian Institute of Criminology found the use of child-like sex dolls could lead to an escalation in child sex offences.
Australian Federal Police Detective Superintendent Paula Hudson said the dolls could desensitise people who used them to the physical, emotional and psychological harm caused by sexual abuse.
“These dolls are far from harmless and do not prevent people from offending against children in the future — quite the contrary,” she said.
“This is why the AFP will pursue any form of child exploitation or activity that encourages or reinforces the sexual abuse of children.
“This includes sexual acts using items depicting children such as these dolls, which are legally considered child exploitation material.”