An Adelaide paedophile jailed for filming himself sexually abusing children in Cambodia will spend an extra three years in jail after a prosecution appeal.
Geoffrey William Moyle was jailed for eight years, nine months and 19 days for pleading guilty to sexually assaulting multiple children between 2002 and 2005.
But the Court of Appeal found that sentence did not reflect society's expectations for protecting vulnerable children overseas from Australian predators.
Moyle was caught through a US investigation into an online bulletin board used to advertise and distribute child exploitation material.
The 49-year-old was identified by the username 'waka', which was traced back to his Cambodian residence through his computer use.
When he posted comments and other pictures on the bulletin board from Australia, Australian Federal Police tracked him down and he was arrested in 2019.
Sentence fails victims
Commonwealth prosecutors argued the jail sentence – which could have seen Moyle released on parole after four-and-a-half years — was inadequate.
A panel of three judges — Chief Justice Chris Kourakis, Justice David Lovell and Justice Sam Doyle – agreed, stating it was "so substantially below the range of sentences warranted" that it needed correcting.
The court found the original sentence did not reflect society's expectations of a penalty which would "protect children in developing countries from the predatory conduct of visiting Australian residents".
The court also found Moyle was fortunate that the sentencing judge accepted his argument that he offended because he was lonely.
It stated that Moyle's offending, his detailed and sophisticated recordings and the "cold commentary" accompanying his online posts, demonstrated "a worrying lack of empathy in the pursuit of his sexual gratification".
"The victims of Mr Moyle's offending are not limited to the nine victims of each of the offences of which he was convicted," the appeal judgement stated.
"Mr Moyle's participation in the commercial exploitation of children played its part in supporting the ongoing trade of those who peddle in the misery of children.
The court set a new head sentence of 12 years for the offences Moyle committed in Cambodia.
He will be eligible for parole after serving seven years behind bars.
Moyle is also serving a nine-month sentence for possessing child exploitation material in Australia.
Last year, Australian Federal Police Detective Superintendent Gail McClure put out a stern warning that police will "work relentlessly to bring these sort of evil perpetrators to justice".
Described as an Australian first, a "very generous" out-of-court settlement was reached between Moyle and one of his child victims in 2021, though an exact dollar figure was not specified.
