One of South Australia’s most persistent and insidious pedophiles has been handed a landmark jail sentence for the depraved sexual exploitation of dozens of boys.
Jadd William Brooker, 41, was on Dec. 20 sentenced to 36 years in prison, including 29 years non-parole - the second-longest jail term for a crime of that nature in the state’s history.
He had previously pleaded guilty to 182 offences, including disseminating child exploitation material and sexually abusing children.
Much of his offending, which took place over a number of years, was explicit and depraved, Justice Adam Kimber said.
“When children are victims of sexual offending, all of society is degraded,” he told the South Australian Supreme Court.
“It exploits the most vulnerable in our community.”
Of Mr. Brooker’s almost 100 victims, several were boys he met in person and engaged in sexual acts with.
He filmed himself having sexual intercourse with several underage males and shared the recordings with a ring of like-minded adults. This amounted to an “egregious breach of trust”, Justice Kimber said.
His victims included boys in Adelaide, NSW and the US. One was 12 years old when his offending began.
“He was a particularly vulnerable child,” Justice Kimber said.
“He has become scared, anxious, depressed and suffers panic attacks. He has difficulties with trust.”
The majority of his victims were unidentified - the subjects of child exploitation material he received or disseminated. But these were not victimless crimes, the judge said.
The material included explicit and sometimes violent sexual acts being perpetrated against children as young as toddlers.
“Children have been exploited, sometimes in horrific ways,” Justice Kimber said.
“Sending this material to others victimises each child. Each and every time.”
Mr. Brooker was HIV-positive and expressed to other pedophiles his desire to infect children with his virus, the court had been told.
He harboured a number of sexual deviances, which increased his likelihood to act on his sexual desires, psychiatrist Narain Nambiar told an earlier hearing.
Mr. Nambiar said Brooker exhibited several factors suggesting a psychopathic personality, including lack of empathy or remorse, dishonesty, manipulation and grandiose self-perception.
Justice Kimber said Brooker’s offending was exceptionally grave and his victims almost too many to count.
“Your pleas of guilty are the most significant matter in your favour. Otherwise, there is little that can be said which is positive,” he said.
“You pose a grave risk to children, particularly adolescent boys.”
The need for denunciation and deterrence was great, he added.
“Some of your offending confirms what is well known,” Justice Kimber said.
“That is, that there are other like-minded people in our community who pose a risk to children.”
Speaking to reporters outside court, one of Brooker’s victims described him as “a vile, vile man” and said hearing the horrific details of his offending in court made him sick to the stomach.
“I hope this sentence is a life sentence for him and that he will never, ever get out to do more damage,” he said.
Brooker’s sentence was back-dated to his arrest in August 2020, meaning he will be eligible for parole in 2049.
