Former kindergarten cleaner jailed over AI-produced child abuse material

Former Mildura kindergarten cleaner jailed over possessing child abuse material In short: A former teacher's aide and kindergarten cleaner in north-west Victoria has been jailed for four-and-a-half years for possessing and producing child abuse material. Mildura man Christopher Rankin, 36, pleaded guilty to 17 charges, and will be classed as a serious sexual offender for life. What's next? He will be eligible for parole in three years. A Mildura man who possessed thousands of child abuse images, including hundreds he produced himself has been jailed for four-and-a-half years. The actions of Christopher Rankin, 36, were described as abhorrent during sentencing in the Victorian County Court on Monday. Rankin offended across an eight-month period at a north-west Victorian home between November 9, 2024 and June 6, 2025. His offending directly involved five children and six adults known to him, as well as a number of unidentified child victims. Not isolated or sporadic The former teacher's aide and kindergarten cleaner was found guilty of possessing a total of 3,638 images and videos of child abuse material. Almost 3,300 of the files were not created by Rankin, and were described as perverse, depraved and disgusting by Judge Krista Breckweg. Those videos and images related to the sexual abuse of unknown child victims, some as young as one-year-old. Across the offending period, Rankin himself created more than 350 explicit videos and images, either through covert filming or use of artificial intelligence. While the material did not feature sexual abuse, it was described as "nevertheless predatory". The court heard he installed a black covert pinhole camera in a home bathroom in Mildura, producing explicit videos and images of two children known to him. He also used AI software to transpose the faces of a total of four children and six women onto the bodies of unknown naked female children and adult women. Judge Breckweg said the offending was not isolated or sporadic, as there was evidence Rankin had moved the child abuse material files across multiple devices and had encrypted access to them. A serious sexual offender Rankin was described as a deviant offender, who was assessed a moderate risk of sexual reoffending. Judge Breckweg said Rankin's prospects for rehabilitation remained guarded. She acknowledged the material Rankin possessed on his devices was for personal use, and was not obtained for the purposes of blackmail, revenge or sale. He was sentenced to a combined total sentence of four-and-a-half years imprisonment, and would be eligible for parole in three years. Upon release he will be put on a two-year good behaviour bond, and he will need to complete a sex offender program and alcohol abuse rehabilitation program within two years. He must also report to Mildura Police Station, and is barred from travelling interstate or overseas without permission. Rankin also will have lifetime reporting obligations, due to being sentenced as a serious sexual offender. Judge Breckweg said if he did not enter a guilty plea, Rankin would have been sentenced to six years imprisonment.