South West man with child exploitation images bought ‘child-like sex doll’ but denies sexual interest

A South West man who imported a “child-like sex doll” into Australia has failed to convince a judge he does not have a sexual interest in children after also being found with child exploitation material. Daniel Mark Adams, 47, appeared in Bunbury District Court on Monday after pleading guilty to importing the tier-two good, and admitted to possessing naked images of young girls. The court was told the “child-like sex doll” depicted a girl aged between four and six years old, and included sexualised features as well as a sound box which played a “strained” and “high-pitched” child-like voice. The court was told Adams ordered the more than $2000 item on a private browser in January 2023, but it was intercepted at Sydney Airport the following month. His home was searched in the following weeks and eight pieces of child exploitation material focused on naked girls were discovered. Adams told police he had ordered the doll because he had been single for seven years, and the court was told he “found the challenge of finding the pictures exciting”. However, his lawyer Stacey Byrne said Adams maintained he was not sexually attracted to children, but had become “desensitised” to adult pornography after viewing so much of it as a single man having to “satisfy himself”. Ms Bryne told the court Adams explained he did not find the images sexually arousing because they were children, but just because they showed female genitals — with the hunt for the images also providing excitement. The prosecutor said there were concerns the doll “may bridge a gap between fantasy and reality” for Adams, who had “little to no insight” into his offending. The District Court judge said he would not accept submissions Adams was not sexually attracted to children because all the evidence pointed to a sexualised interest in young girls. The judge described one of the images — which the court was told were downloaded from a Russian website — as “disgusting” and said they portrayed real children at risk. “These are real victims who have been abused,” he said. The judge said Adams had denied his sexual interest in children, and importing the doll was a serious offence despite it not being an act against a real child. “The risk here . . . is that it normalises sexual offending against children,” he said. “(It) normalises sexual exploitation of children.” With the child exploitation material taken into account in relation to the importation of the sex doll, Adams was sentenced to a 12-month jail term, but was only ordered to serve three of those months. He will then be released on a $2000 recognisance release order — acting as a good behaviour bond — for two years. During those two years, Adams will be under the direction of a probation officer, who will impose “reasonable” conditions such as child sex offender programs.