A cafe worker who made a video of himself masturbating to child abuse material to satisfy a humiliation fetish has been slammed by a judge for his deplorable behaviour.
Stephen Corbett, 37, from Sydney, was arrested on February 1 last year following a tip-off to police that he was in possession of child abuse material.
He was sentenced on Wednesday to a 12-month corrections order and placed on the child sex offenders list.
According to police facts previously obtained by Daily Mail Australia, Corbett was in a master-and-slave BDSM relationship with a young Filipino man, called James.
James, who played the role of master, sent a video of Corbett masturbating to child abuse material to one of the hospitality worker's friends to satisfy his slave's humiliation fetish. The friend then informed police.
Corbett initially pleaded not guilty in March 2023 but later admitted his guilt.
During his sentencing hearing in Waverley Local Court on Wednesday, Magistrate Michael Barko blasted Corbett for his role in perpetuating the heinous child-sex trafficking trade running rampant in impoverished countries.
The video featured Corbett (pictured) committing a sex act while watching the exploitation material
'This has to stop. This behaviour has to stop. And it won't if people overseas in these countries are communicating with people over here and sending child abuse material,' Magistrate Barko said.
'It is the most serious offence.
'I commend the person for coming forward to police, who acted expeditiously. And if they hadn't, who knows how much further the behaviour may have gone.'
Dressed in a grey suit, Corbett sat alone, slouched over, in the front pew of the court listening to the proceedings, while his parents were seated a couple of rows behind him.
Clasping his hands together neatly in his lap, he gazed stoically at the front of the court room.
Addressing Magistrate Barko, Corbett's lawyer argued the offence was at the lower end of seriousness because it was a 'once off' and that the idea to make the video came from the 37-year-old's 'master'.
Corbett has pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child abuse material
'Generally in these cases, police find a treasure trove in the hundreds or thousands of child abuse material [when they raid offenders homes],' he told the court.
'The one video was a prop in a domination fetish. The fact it was child abuse material was ancillary to the other fetish.'
Corbett's lawyer said that sentencing should take into consideration that it was his first offence and he has been on 'onerous bail conditions' since his arrest, which included living with his parents, reporting to police twice weekly, and not accessing the internet.
The lawyer further argued that Corbett was suffering from undiagnosed bipolar disorder at the time, which features 'hypersexuality' as a symptom.
'He's been seeking help for depression since 2013, but was only diagnosed with bipolar after his arrest,' his lawyer told the court.
'The doctor stated his hyper manic episodes were quite severe at the time of offending. The doctor found a connection between the disorder and his conduct. There is an imbalance of brain chemicals, which causes cognitive difficulties in relation to reasoning and behaviour.
'One symptom is hyper sexuality. He has been seeking treatment for this condition.
'My submission your honour that a sentence has to be crafted for the good of this offender and the public.'
Magistrate Barko noted that he had previously rejected a bid by Corbett to have the matter dealt with under the mental health act, because he believes all people who commit child sex offences must be disordered and sentencing should apply to the 'objective seriousness' of the crime.
Corbett is pictured leaving court with his lawyer in March 2023
Stephen Corbett (pictured left) was arrested when a friend dobbed him into police after receiving a seedy home-made video showing child abuse material on his laptop screen
'Anyone who deals with child abuse material must have mental issue.. It's [the behaviour] not on the straight and narrow. It deals with the sexual abuse of children overseas,' he said.
'I can understand hyper sexuality between adults, but I don’t understand it between adults and children.'
Magistrate Barko accepted that Corbett was entitled to reduced sentencing because of his guilty plea, noted that he was intoxicated at the time, and that a doctor's report listed him at low risk of reoffending.
However, while taking into consideration the mental health arguments, Magistrate Barko said he was of the view there was no other suitable punishment other than some form of imprisonment.
He sentenced Corbett to 12 months to be served by way of intensive correction in the community, under a supervision plan imposed by the Community Corrections office.
Under the sentence, Corbett will be added to the national child protection register as a convicted child sex offender.
During the proceedings, members of the public gathering could be seen shaking their heads in disgust as Magistrate Barko detailed the offence.
Corbett has since made an appeal against his conviction, which is scheduled tobe heard in the District Court on 15 August.
