A grandmother has avoided conviction after filming and saving video of a naked toddler on TikTok, with a judge finding it was not done "for sexual gratification or profit".
The grandmother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced in the ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday.
The woman, aged in her 50s, cannot speak English and required the assistance of an interpreter to understand court proceedings.
She had previously pleaded guilty to committing an act of indecency on a child under 10, and using a carriage service to publish child abuse material.
Justice Belinda Baker did not record convictions for the woman, and placed her on a good behaviour order for 12 months.
"[The grandmother] did not intend the video to be viewed by any person other than the child's mother," Justice Baker said.
"The video was not taken for sexual gratification or for profit."
Justice Baker said the woman had ceased formal education when she married at 15, and "did not appreciate that her conduct constituted criminal offences under Australian law".
"Character references speak of her as a honest sincere and friendly person, and a very loving mother and grandmother," the judge stated.
"The likelihood of her re-offending is nonexistent, nor is there any need for the sentences to vindicate any harm to the victim or the victim's family.
"I am satisfied that this is an exceptional case."
In January last year, the grandmother gave the toddler a "cultural massage" which involved rubbing the child's body with oil.
"It is believed the massage will make the child strong and healthy and assist in the child's overall development," Justice Baker said.
"[It is] common for grandmothers to perform such massages.
"[There is] no suggestion in the evidence [the woman's] massage of her granddaughter constituted an offence or was in any way inappropriate."
After the massage, while the child was still naked, the grandmother recorded a video on her phone.
In the video, the woman and the child are on a bed smiling at the camera.
The grandmother then taps the girl's stomach and lower pelvic region before raising the child's right leg exposing her genitals.
The woman then moves the camera closer to the child's genitals, effectively zooming in.
She saved the video in TikTok, and while it was not available publicly, it was published on the company's servers.
Other TikTok users could only see the video if the grandmother sent them a link.
The woman then sent a link to her daughter, the child's mother, who called immediately and told the grandmother to delete the video.
The grandmother, who was described in court as being "not particularly tech savvy", unsent the message believing this deleted the video.
Two days later TikTok reported the video to the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in the United States of America.
The Australian Federal Police were then notified of the video.
In February 2023 the grandmother was arrested. She was granted bail the next day.
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