A convicted child porn pervert put on a state-wide watchlist for sex offenders has been spared a jail sentence for failing to notify police he was using the popular social media app TikTok.
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Bellambi's Dean Oldfield pleaded guilty to a single charge of possessing child abuse material at Wollongong Local Court in July 2020 after police seized graphic child abuse material from his mobile phone six months earlier.
He was sentenced to a 30-month community correction order at the time, along with 100 hours of unpaid community service work.
In the wake of his conviction, Oldfield was placed on the Child Protection Register for eight years, which requires him to complete yearly forms updating his personal information with the police who monitor compliance with the register.
Under the terms of the CPR, Oldfield is also required to disclose his social media accounts and their usernames and passwords to police within seven days of creating them.
Court documents reveal Oldfield breached that condition twice in quick succession last year after he was busted failing to disclose internet usernames to police in June/July and again in September.
The court heard when Oldfield turned up to Wollongong Police Station on July 12 to do his annual CPR update report it soon became apparent to detectives he had failed to disclose a number of usernames to active social media accounts including TikTok, Steam and Telegram.
When questioned, Oldfield said he had activated the social media accounts six weeks earlier, but could not explain why he had failed to report it to police.
Meanwhile, police attended Oldfield's house just two months later for a surprise CPR compliance check, only to discover he had more undisclosed email addresses and usernames.
These ones included a Gmail email address, two usernames linked to separate YouTube accounts and further accounts with Xbox and the group video chat app Houseparty.
Oldfield was charged with two counts of breaching his reporting obligations, to which he pleaded guilty.
During a sentencing hearing in Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday, defence lawyer John Styles said Oldfield suffered from mental health conditions including depression, but had booked into to see a psychologist and had a mental health care plan in place.
He suggested Oldfield had not understood "the extent of his obligations" when it came to the register.
"Sometimes when people are placed on the register they don't understand the gravity of it," Mr Styles said.
"I've had a long talk with him and have outlined to him just how serious this register is."
He confirmed Oldfield had lost his employment as an apprentice chef due to publicity surrounding his crimes.
"With his name at the moment it's very hard for him to get employment in the local area," Mr Styles said.
He confirmed Oldfield's girlfriend had accompanied him to court and was "well aware" of his charges and "fully supportive" of him.
Magistrate Michael Ong sentenced Oldfield to a 20-month bond that includes ongoing supervision by staff at Community Corrections.
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