Repeat child sex offender handed nearly 10 years' jail over 300,000 sickening files

CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to child abuse.

A registered child sex offender who has already served time behind bars for possessing child abuse material has been sentenced to almost 10 years’ jail over the nearly 300,000 horrific files that were found at his home last year.

Michael Stanley Cooper, 66, was sentenced to a total of nine years and eight months’ jail by the ACT Supreme Court on Monday (22 July).

Justice David Mossop said in late October 2022, the Australian Federal Police were told that an Internet user in Australia had accessed child abuse material via a peer-to-peer file-sharing software.

Cooper was identified as this user through his IP address. Police raided his home in Amaroo in February 2023 and found numerous computer storage devices as well as 350 compact discs.

He had 283,167 files of child abuse material across 17 electronic devices depicting at least 1250 victims from the ages of at least two or three. The photos and videos included such horrific scenes as rape and bestiality.

He also had 102 images and videos identified as child exploitation material on 12 CD-ROMs.

In March 2019, a user of an online encrypted messaging system, only accessible with a peer-to-peer sharing program, posted a message requesting a particular child abuse material video. Cooper replied with three ‘keys’ that allowed access to such material.

Then, in March 2022, another user of the system posted a message describing the child abuse material they had, and Cooper replied by saying he would be “very interested” in it.

When this user didn’t post the material, Cooper followed up with another message a week later, asking, “What happened”, and saying, “Yes I really need all 61 videos”.

When police interviewed him, he told them he had lived in the house alone since 1996 and did not agree that there was harm in possessing child abuse material, claiming the harm had already been done and the material was freely available on the Internet.

He estimated he possessed about 500,000 unique child abuse material files but denied having a sexual interest in children, saying he saw collecting the material as more of a “hobby” or a “compulsion”.

Cooper pleaded guilty to eight charges, including possessing or controlling child abuse material accessed via a carriage service, using a carriage service to access child abuse material, using a carriage service to solicit child abuse material and possessing child exploitation material.

He was already a registered child sex offender because, in 2011, he was convicted and handed a jail sentence over having about 680,000 child abuse material files.

Due to this, he faced a mandatory minimum sentence of four years’ jail on Monday.

He was born in Ballarat, has no children, got an apprenticeship as a radio technician and worked for two electrical companies. He lost his job due to his earlier crimes but then appeared to briefly work for the ACT Government.

He has been diagnosed as having pedophilia and an Autism spectrum disorder.

Cooper was convicted and handed a non-parole period of five years and seven months’ jail, backdated to account for the nearly 500 days he has been in custody.

He will be 70 when he is eligible to be granted parole from October 2028.

If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT 02 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.