General News
4 July, 2025
Indigenous elder convicted of possessing child abuse material
A Horsham man has avoided jail time after pleading guilty to possessing almost 1000 images of child abuse material.
Ronald Marks, 74, appeared in the Horsham Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, July 2, where he pleaded guilty to possessing child abuse material.
Magistrate Kieran Gilligan fined Marks $7500 and ordered him to be placed on the sex offender register for eight years.
Mr Gilligan said the matter was “vexing” but accepted Marks was ashamed.
“You have pleaded guilty, and you are entitled to a discount because of that,” the magistrate said.
The court heard that while Marks’ offending was serious, his lack of prior criminal history, demonstrated remorse, and ongoing health issues were considered mitigating factors under Victorian sentencing principles.
Mr Gilligan said there was no evidence the child abuse material had been shared or distributed.
The magistrate said while a sentence of up to 10 years of imprisonment was an option, Marks’ remorse, good character, and his lack of prior or subsequent offending meant a jail term or community corrections order was inappropriate.
Images uncovered
The court heard on July 8, 2021, the Australian Federal Police Child Protection Triage Unit received a report from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, relating to the upload of child abuse material by Marks to a Yahoo email account.
On September 22, 2021, at 8am, police executed a search warrant at Marks’ home and 16 electronic devices were seized.
Marks was interviewed by detectives at the Horsham Police Station, where he admitted to owning the password-protected email account.
On August 7, 2023, a report by the Cybercrime squad contained the analysis of cache files of one laptop, an iPhone and a hard drive.
The report said Marks accessed the child abuse material on the three devices between October 9, 2012, and September 21, 2021.
Police categorised the 978 images as comprising 735 category one and 243 category two images.
The report described the material as involving children under 12 subjected to sexual abuse and extreme violence.
The report said Marks last accessed the files at 11.43pm on September 21, 2021.
Letter of remorse
Marks, a Wergaia and Dja Dja Wurrung man and former Koori Court elder, resigned from his teaching role after charges were laid.
The morning of his court appearance, Marks wrote in a letter to the magistrate, outlining his remorse.
The letter said Marks spent his life teaching children to be safe and would not make wrong decisions in the future.
Mr Gilligan said Marks’ health contributed to his lessened sentence.
All property seized was ordered to be forfeited and destroyed.
If you or someone you know has been impacted, please know that you are not alone. There is help and support available:
Lifeline – 13 11 14
1800RESPECT – 1800 737 732
Beyond Blue – 1300 224 636
Victorian Aboriginal Health Service – (03) 9419 3000
Kids Helpline – 1800 55 1800