Transgender Woman has Child Porn Conviction Overturned Since She Was "Struggling With Her Identity" in Australia

Vetea Joseph Bunton, 22, was prosecuted for graphic depictions of child sex as young as 5 in Jan. 2016. Bunton, a transgender “woman” who was 18 at the time, had phone images of children having sex with each other as well as children having sex with adults. There were a total of 15 images depicting young boys between the age of five years and 16 years posing naked, performing oral sex or engaging in anal intercourse, either with other young people or adults, the court said. Bunton pleaded guilty in Dec. 2018 to a charge of possessing child exploitation material in the District Court of Brisbane (Queensland).

But then Justice Brian Devereaux gave Bunton leniency during the initial court proceedings in part because of vouching made by forensic psychologist, Dr. Gavan Palk. She does not present as a person who is a risk to children. Her sexual offences appear situational and in the context of low self-esteem and lack of confidence due to teenage sexual adjustment issues, Devereaux said. There was no evidence of entrenched pedophilic tendencies.

Bunton claimed that the downloading of kiddie porn was out of curiosity and at a time when she was struggling with issues concerning her transgender identity and sexual identity. Devereaux noted that none of Bunton’s testimony really excuses obtaining child exploitation material with children as young as five.

Devereaux ultimately sentenced Bunton to two years of probation along with mandatory treatment, also requiring registration as a sex offender under the initial ruling.

Despite the leniency, Bunton appealed!!

An appeals court felt that Devereaux’s determination was unfair and overturned the conviction. determining that Devereaux’s ruling was inappropriate and disproportionate. In my respectful view, the applicant’s circumstances are unusual, Justice Philip Morrison wrote on behalf of the three-judge panel.

Justice Morrison was worried that Bunton’s status as a sex offender would affect aspects of transition, due to the “onerous” reporting requirements and the inability to develop an alias when “undergoing transgender treatment.”