McCoole sentenced to 35 years in prison

Convicted child abuser and former Families SA carer Shannon Grant McCoole will spend at least 28 years behind bars.

He was sentenced in Adelaide today to 35 years in prison with a 28 year non-parole period.

The 32-year-old pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges including unlawful sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault, gross indecency as well as producing, dissemination and possession of child exploitation material.

During his trial, the court heard McCoole had run a child exploitation website and had offended against children aged as young as 18 months old.

He photographed his crimes and shared them on the international website, of which he was an administrator.

Those in court to see the pedophile sentenced today gasped as details of his crimes were read out.

The offending happened between January 2011 and June 2014 while McCoole was employed by Families SA.

He was caring for children in a government-run residential facility and an Out of School Hours Care service.

The discovery of McCoole's offending led to the establishment of a royal commission into South Australia's child protection system, led by former Supreme Court justice Margaret Nyland.

More to come...