![Man sent unsolicited sex videos to women just weeks after court case Man sent unsolicited sex videos to women just weeks after court case](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/jessica.howard/c723d083-57d6-4463-a472-aa40d39d0ec7.png/r0_37_747_457_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
A Warrnambool man sent unsolicited videos of himself masturbating to five vulnerable women just weeks after he was sentenced for terrorising his carer.
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Christopher Bentham, 22, was placed on a good behaviour bond in December 2023 after pleading guilty to charges headed by the offence of directing sexual activity that could cause fear and distress.
That offending involved him sending anonymous explicit images to a carer for more than 12 months.
Then in January 2024 police matched shower tiles seen in unrelated sexually explicit videos with ones at Bentham's home.
He pleaded guilty in Warrnambool Magistrates Court on July 11, 2024, to charges relating to those videos.
The court heard five female victims received Instagram requests from up to 14 different accounts, all of which had similar sexualised messaging and a profile picture of either a car, wrestling logos or explicit cartoon images.
The man sent sexually explicit videos of himself to his victims, which included him using a sex toy in the shower.
Police said the victims didn't recognise the username, person or shower, but had suspicions it was Bentham.
The victims followed a pattern of screen-shotting the profiles, screen-recording the videos and then blocking/reporting the accounts.
The man, upon being blocked, would make another Instagram account in order to initiate contact again.
Police prosecutor Jacqui Joseph said that during January the man messaged the victims daily, if not several times per day.
She said three of the victims attended a police station on January 22, 2024 and reported the incident.
That led police to raid the man's home where they observed the shower seen in the videos.
Officers seized the man's mobile phone as well as an imitation firearm (gel blaster).
Bentham had been placed on the good behaviour bond for the offending against his carer just five weeks earlier.
Under that bond he was ordered to continue his mental health treatment.
The man suffers from Fragile X syndrome, which causes a range of developmental problems including learning disabilities and cognitive impairment.
Bentham told police in January that he sent the videos and messages after he stopped seeing his therapist.
He said he "gets a rush" from the offending and admitted the victims would not have been receptive and would likely have felt scared.
A legal aid lawyer said she would have sought the matter be heard in the Assessment and Referral Court (ARC) if the specialist court was available in the south-west.
ARC is a therapeutic court that aims to address underlying factors that contribute to offending behaviours.
The lawyer said her client was a youthful offender with an intellectual disability, difficulties with impulse control, and inadequate support in the community.
The plea hearing was adjourned until July 12 when magistrate Peter Mellas ordered Bentham be assessed for a justice plan and a community corrections order.
He said it was important Bentham was involved in support services in order to follow up on a range of medical and mental health issues, as well as getting the process of involving the NDIS back on track.
Mr Mellas said it was important to understand the explanation for Bentham's offending.
"One thing that stands out is (your) really bad decision making... and it is hurting people," he said.
"Part of what is happening here is you have got some mental health issues, there's some reasons for that, that I've seen... but you're also just using substances the wrong way.
"It has got to the stage now where you know if you use drugs, mix drugs, you're going to cause you and other people problems, so you need to get on top of that."
The magistrate deferred sentence for three months.
Bentham will face court again at a later date.
- Support is available for those who may be distressed. Call South West CASA 5564 4144;1800RESPECT 1800 737 732.