Cameron Tougher, 33, faced the Ballarat Magistrates' Court on Tuesday on charges of knowingly possessing, distributing, and accessing child abuse material after he was found with thousands of explicit photos and videos of children from toddlers to teenagers.

There are no allegations any of Tougher's offending took place at Sovereign Hill.

Ballarat police were alerted to his activity in September 2020 by South Australian authorities who were investigating a paedophile ring in their state.

In a "lengthy" summary, the court was told Tougher was employed on a voluntary basis at Sovereign Hill in two roles, dressing in period costume around the park, and assisting catering contractors to serve food.

The court heard police had recorded Tougher making admissions to being a paedophile.

"Stating ... 'a paedophile at a theme park, the best combo ever'," the police prosecutor read.

The court heard in the same admission, Tougher said he was pleased he soon had a school group coming to the park because he would "get to see cute boys in hot period costumes".

Following the alert, Ballarat police executed a search warrant at his Wendouree home and found a number of mobile phones, a memory card, hard drive, two USBs, a video recorder, camera, laptop, and a bag of children's underwear.

Tougher's devices were examined and were found to contain thousands of photos and videos of child abuse material, including adult men engaging in sexual acts with very young children through to teenagers.

The court heard he received and sent the photos and videos through various encrypted messaging services, and over 70,000 of the material were yet to be categorised due to the large amount.

IN THE NEWS:

Police also found a number of images of an 11-year-old boy in various states of undress at Tougher's home.

He was arrested and conveyed to Ballarat Police Station, where he was interviewed and told police the boy was an associate's nephew and he planned to set up a recording while the boy was using the bathroom.

He also told police his fetishes were 'adult baby diaper lover', where he puts on children's underwear over nappies, and 'pup play' where he pretends he is a dog.

When police asked him why he was in possession of the child abuse material he did not give a reason.

"I don't know, I don't have a reason ... I just have a curious mind," he told police in the interview.

When asked why he shared the material with others, Tougher said, "it was just to be one of the crowd really".

The court heard Tougher told police he "admires" the videos.

"I probably shouldn't send it on ... it's all the worst things that you can think of that a paedophile does," he told police.

Representation for Tougher did not give the court defence submissions on Tuesday as they were waiting for a psychological report to rely on.

In a statement, Sovereign Hill said Tougher had undergone a Working with Children check before volunteering.

"Sovereign Hill has been alerted that a person who briefly volunteered at the outdoor museum some years ago has appeared in court," the statement said.

"There is no suggestion that any of these alleged offences occurred at Sovereign Hill.

"The person had passed a Working with Children check before starting at Sovereign Hill which is a requirement for all staff and volunteers.

"The safety and the well-being of all our customers and team remains our first priority.

"As the matter is now before the courts it would be inappropriate to comment further."

Tougher will return to court for sentencing on September 12.

Affected by this story? There is help available.

Now just one tap with our new app. Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with The Courier. See how to download it below: