A Wollongong man found in possession of doll made to look like a young child has been jailed for 12 months in the first sentencing of its kind in Australia.
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Robert Garcia of Warilla, NSW, was the first person nationwide to be charged with possessing a child-like sex doll in November 2019 under new federal legislation introduced by parliament less than two months earlier.
The 52-year-old admitted to purchasing the doll from Kmart for his grandchildren about three of four years ago, then converting it into a sex doll a few years later by cutting out a hole in its crotch area and inserting a crude synthetic tube into the hole to allow for penetration.
Police discovered the doll - along with video footage of him having sex with it - inside Garcia's home while carrying out a welfare check.
Police said the doll, which stood about 65cm tall, was found in Garcia's bedroom wearing a pink top, no underwear and its blonde hair had been styled into pigtails.
Police also discovered a cache of child pornography on three phones inside the house.
Garcia's lawyers had asked the court to spare their client full-time jail during a sentencing hearing on Friday, however Judge Andrew Haesler had largely dismissed such a sentence by the end of the proceedings.
It appears his interest in young children and his use of doll occurred at the time he was drinking heavily.
In court on Monday, he upheld that decision, imposing a 12-month jail sentence with a two-year recognisance bond.
"Given the seriousness of the offences I can only impose a custodial sentence," he said.
However, Judge Haesler placed Garcia's offending at the lower end of the range of objective seriousness.
"It was a toy, not a life-like model and had been crudely altered," he said.
"He was not supporting any commercial market for sex dolls.
"[Still], he now acknowledges and accepts his acts were perverted.
"It appears his interest in young children and his use of doll occurred at the time he was drinking heavily.
"If he undergoes treatment, I'm reasonably confident if he refrains from using alcohol he is unlikely to reoffend."
The court heard Garcia will also be placed on the NSW child sex offenders registry when he is released from custody in July next year.
