An Albion Park man who attempted to import a child-like sex doll from China will not spend any time in jail after his sentence was cut on appeal.
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Brent Kenneth Hazelton was jailed for a minimum of four months in January, after pleading guilty in the Wollongong Local Court to two charges of intentionally importing tier two prohibited goods, those being a child-like sex doll and child abuse material.
Following those four months, the remainder of the then-23-year-old's sentence was to be suspended with payment of a $1000 recognizance.
But in the Wollongong District Court on Friday, Judge Andrew Haesler reduced Hazelton's sentence to a wholly suspended sentence of 12 months with a $1000 recognizance, and ordered his immediate release.
His conviction remains, however, and he must be of good behaviour for three years and be under the supervision of Community Corrections for as long as deemed necessary.
Hazelton's defence counsel submitted he had been undertaking treatment and imprisonment would have a deleterious impact.
Judge Haesler also noted he was a young and vulnerable person.
Hazelton had not served any of his custodial sentence, having been granted bail while he awaited his appeal.
In December 2019, Australian Border Force officials intercepted a parcel intended for Hazelton and found a half-body sex doll that was child-like in appearance, with a genital cavity.
He had purchased the item from website Ali Express for $200.
When asked about the sex doll, Hazelton initially told Australian Border Force officials that he did not think it would be child-like and instead resembled an 18-year-old, but later admitted to police that he did think it appeared to be younger.
Then in February last year, he was stopped at the airport upon his return from South Korea and on his phone, officials found 34 images of children in sexualised positions and three animated videos depicting children engaging in sex with an adult.
He was arrested last March and told police he regularly viewed child abuse material.
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