Craig James Wallace, 57, is assisted out of the ACT Courthouse on Tuesday afternoon. Photo: Albert McKnight.
CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to alleged child abuse offences.
A renowned disability advocate has been accused of possessing child abuse material, allegedly telling police he had collected it “since the internet began”.
Police raided the Canberra home of 57-year-old Craig James Wallace this week and seized “a significant amount of printed child exploitation material”, an ACT Policing spokesperson alleged.
He was charged with one count of possessing child exploitation material before he said he wanted to make a statement when he faced the ACT Magistrates Court late on Tuesday (7 July).
“I wish to say that I’m ashamed of what I did. I also wish to say I turned myself in,” he said.
“I looked around and said ‘I’m disgusted by this, I don’t know why I’m doing it’.
“I could have kept going like I did, but I made a decision to change.”
He did not clarify if he was referring to the allegations against him in this statement.
Mr Wallace applied for bail, which was opposed by prosecutor Harrison Gwynne.
He said Mr Wallace allegedly told police he had been downloading and printing child abuse material “since the internet began”.
“There appears to be decades of offending,” the prosecutor alleged.
Eimear Silk of Legal Aid, appearing for Mr Wallace, said her client handed himself in to police, told them where to find evidence and cooperated with the investigation.
She said he had quit his job and planned to move to a retirement village in the near future.
Magistrate Glenn Theakston said he had limited concerns when it came to the risk of Mr Wallace interfering with evidence if he was granted bail, as he had voluntarily gone to police and pointed out evidence during their search.
He also said most of Mr Wallace’s electronic devices had been seized.
Magistrate Theakston granted bail on conditions, including Mr Wallace not be alone with anyone under 18, and adjourned the matter to 4 August.
Mr Wallace, who did not enter a plea, is a disability advocate who has worked and volunteered in the ACT community sector since the late 1990s.
He has worked for the ACT Council of Social Service, although he has not been part of that organisation for several years, as well as Advocacy for Inclusion.
If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT on 02 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call triple zero.
If you have been affected by sexual violence, or someone you know has, you can report it to police by attending a police station or phoning 131 444.