A Riverina man has avoided time behind bars after filming a woman with Down syndrome showering while she was in his care.
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The man, aged in his 30s, appeared at Wagga Local Court for sentencing on Monday after pleading guilty to two counts of intentionally recording intimate images without consent (domestic violence).
He also faced charges of installing a device or adapting a building to observe or film, and possession of child abuse material.
Magistrate Miranda Moody said the man needed help and told him he was lucky he would not be going to prison.
"If he doesn't get a better understanding of how serious his offending is, the community is at risk and children are at risk," she said.
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Magistrate Moody acknowledged that while the man had 139 images and four videos of child abuse material, it was "not the thousands of images" usually brought before the court.
She also said the client's vulnerability was concerning, and the man's actions were "creepy".
The man's solicitor said the installation of the devices was not as "sophisticated" as one might see and that the child abuse material was "far from the most serious example".
In sentencing, Magistrate Moody said the charge of filming the young woman with Down syndrome while she was showering was the most serious of the four offences.
In another instance, he filmed her while she was clothed in her bedroom.
"The worrying thing is that the offender was working in a disability support organisation," she said.
"He worked in a supported living unit ... the offender spent a large majority of his working hours 'caring' for that victim.
"He said they had a rapport which is ridiculous given the position the victim was in and the total imbalance of their positions."
Magistrate Moody noted he had a supportive family which was "horrified" by his actions. A pre-sentence report labelled him as a low to medium risk of reoffending.
She said that in a letter to the court, the man appeared to be remorseful and understand he took advantage of someone.
"He has clearly an enormous immaturity," Magistrate Moody said.
"In any event, he is still a relatively young man, and I consider it in the best interest of the community that he rehabilitates himself and gets the treatment he needs."
Magistrate Moody sentenced the offender to a 15-month intensive correction order with the condition he continues to engage with a psychologist and partakes in the Good Lives Model, which is a strengths-based rehabilitation program.
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