A Corrimal pensioner has been released on bail pending an appeal against his four-month jail sentence for possessing explicit child pornography.
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Evidence of Paul McKenzie Ferguson's perverted behaviour was discovered in March this year when he took his phone into JB Hi-Fi in Wollongong Central intending to transfer data to a new phone.
The employee serving the 60-year-old had just finished the download when she uncovered more than 100 child abuse images while checking the transfer had been successful.
She handed the new phone back to Ferguson and he left the store.
At lunchtime, she and another colleague attended Wollongong Police Station to report what they had seen.
Police went to Ferguson's house later that afternoon and seized his phone. Officers discovered multiple images of young females which they deemed child pornography.
When questioned, Ferguson admitted to downloading and possessing the images, saying there were "thousands" of similar pictures on the device, mainly containing adolescent females aged between 10 and 18.
He was charged with one count of possessing child abuse material, to which he pleaded guilty.
Court documents said police discovered 240 images on Ferguson's phone that fell into the worst category for such images, while another 2548 fell into the second highest category.
Magistrate Michael Stoddart rejected Ferguson's bid for a community-based intensive corrections order, finding his crime warranted time behind bars.
Ferguson lodged an immediate appeal and was released on bail. The appeal will be heard in Wollongong District Court next month.
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