A MAFFRA painter by trade who supplied teenage girls as young as 13 with alcohol, money and pricey shoes in exchange for nude photos has avoided prison, but will be a registered sex offender for life.
Shane Atkinson (22), calling himself ‘Insano Shano’ on Snapchat, used the app to talk to at least five girls aged between 13 and 15, convincing them to send him explicit images. He was 18 and 19 at the time of the offences.
While the prosecutor called for a jail term, he was sentenced for a 12-month community correction order by Judge Kellie Blaire, who said Atkinson had strong prospects for rehabilitation and a low risk of reoffending.
This story was originally reported by the Herald Sun, who said that a concerned mother discovered one of the chats and “raised the alarm”.
Atkinson was found guilty of two charges of attempting to involve a child in the production of child abuse material, and three charges of involving a child in the production of child abuse material. The images were ruled by a judge to be child abuse material, including the ones where the girls were not completely naked.
Last month, the County Court heard that two teenage girls aged 13 and 14 sent Atkinson photos of themselves in their underwear. In exchange, he provided them $40, a bottle of vodka and multiple slabs of sugary alcoholic drinks. One girl was given his credit card after sending photos to purchase Nike shoes.
Atkinson also paid a 14-year-old girl up to $1000 for her to send him highly graphic and explicit photos and videos over a year after she learnt about his scheme of paying for nudes. Another girl around the same age refused to send him nude photos after he bought her Adidas shoes months earlier.
Judge Kellie Blaire said Atkinson’s offences were not lessened by a minor’s “consent” or “initiation”.
As Atkinson had pleaded not guilty and claimed the children had “tricked them”, the prosecution argued he lacked remorse.
As reported by the Herald Sun, Atkinson said during an assessment for the corrections order that what he had done was a “fairly common thing”.
“Everyone is doing it. Sharing nudes happens daily. It’s weird if you haven’t done it,” he reportedly said.
