INTERNATIONAL: An Australian from Adelaide, Geoffrey William Moyle, 48, has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting multiple children between 2002 and 2005 while working as a foreign aid worker for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and has been sentenced to eight years and nine months in prison with a non-parole period of four years and six months.

He has a preceding case dating back to 2019 where he was sentenced to nine months for possessing child exploitation material and he admitted to filming himself sexually abusing children in Cambodia before publishing the videos online. There was also a “very generous” out-of-court settlement made between Moyle and one his child victims.

Judge Paul Cuthbertson says Moyle was at a low risk of reoffending and described him as a "loving father, son and husband. He feels remorseful for his actions and takes responsibility for them.” However, the judge said the law cannot ignore the seriousness of the crimes.

Over a period of approximately two to three years, the offender was involved in sexual activity against children aged 10 to 12 years old. The only victim to be identified has suffered serious trauma. The court said Moyle treated her as if she was an object.

Moyle's nine-month state sentence for the child exploitation charges were backdated to when he was arrested in June 2019. His Commonwealth sentence of eight years and nine months began at the end of that sentence. He will be eligible for parole in 2024.