Robert Emmett: Son Of Prominent Judges Caught With 10,000 Images Of Child Abuse, But Avoids Jail Time


Robert Emmett was convicted of possessing more than 10,000 images of extreme child abuse, including some involving bestiality and torture. However, when it came time for sentencing, the member of one Australia’s most distinguished family of judges avoided any time in jail.

Emmett, the son of NSW Court of Appeal judge Arthur Emmett and Federal Circuit Court judge Sylvia Emmett and grandson of Chief Justice of the NSW Supreme Court Sir Laurence Street, had been arrested in 2013 on a number of disturbing charges. He was accused not only of possession child porn, but the former math teacher at St. Andrew’s Cathedral School also pleaded guilty to filming the private parts of children.

Prosecutors claimed that Robert Emmett was active in his abuse of children. The court heard that he filmed some students on his camera phone, and even once pretended to tie his shoes so he could film up a girl’s dress.

“In my view it is a significant aggravating feature that the offender was a school teacher,” said District Court judge Ian McClintock.

One victim said Emmett was often on the lookout for young children and was seen as a predator.

“When I think back on his behavior, he was often looking up the stairs as we walked up and down, and hanging around us too closely at lunch times,” the victim told the court.

But the judge also decided that Robert Emmett didn’t need to be in jail. McClintock noted that Emmett already “lost his career” and was remorseful. He would also need to be in a high priority area in jail to be kept away from other inmates.

That led the judge to recommend that Emmett serve a sentence of less than two years, which would allow him to serve his time in the community rather than in jail.

The decision led to outrage among many, with claims that his family’s connections helped avoid what should have been many years behind bars.

Robert Emmett could have received up to five years in jail for filming a person’s private parts and 10 years for possession of child abuse material.

[Image via ABC.net]

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