Former Australian diplomat has his conviction for child pornography quashed after judge ruled drawings of school boys engaging in penetrative sex was ‘art’
- Police seized 21 colour drawings of young boys engaging in sexual activities
- Robert Michael Scoble was convicted of possessing child abuse material in 2017
- The 70-year-old later appealed the decision and had his conviction overturned
A former Australian diplomat who was caught with drawings of school boys engaging in penetrative sex has had his conviction quashed.
Police raided Robert Michael Scoble’s home in 2017 where they seized 21 colour drawings of young boys engaging in sexual activities.
The 70-year-old appeared in the NSW Local Court in September last year where he was convicted of possessing child abuse material.
The images show teenage boys engaging in group sex at school. The boys are in various states of undress and some show penetrative sex, genitals and ejaculation.
Police raided Robert Michael Scoble’s (pictured) home in 2017 where they seized 21 colour drawings of young boys engaging in sexual activities
Dr Scoble, who served as a deputy ambassador in Hanoi in the 1980s, later appealed the decision where District Court Judge Robert Weber overturned the conviction after finding him not guilty.
The court heard that Dr Scoble was given the images while he was researching a book on French author Roger Peyrefitte who wrote about ‘love between school boys’.
Dr Scoble had purchased a copy of the book in 2002 but after ditching his project he left the book on a shelf and did not go back to it.
Both Judge Weber and trial magistrate Daniel Covington failed to find that the images were used for any sexual gratification.
The court heard that Dr Scoble (pictured) and purchased the images for his work as a biographer
Judge Weber found that the Crown had not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the images would be offensive to a reasonable person.
‘It is apparent they are in pristine condition in a box and wrapped in the original tissue paper packaging,’ Judge Weber told the court, SMH reported.
‘The images are certainly confronting and most definitely not likely to be appreciated by a significant percentage of the population.
‘However, that is not the test, as the legislature cannot be presumed to intend that material that offends any segment of the community is to be significantly criminalised with an offence carrying a 10 year maximum jail sentence.’