Mother recalls disgusting moment she found child porn on her husband's computer
A Victorian MP - and mother of a teenage son - has opened up about the devastating moment she found a stash of graphic child pornography images on her husband's laptop.
Australian Conservatives MP Rachel Carling-Jenkins, a devout Christian, spoke to SBS program Insight about the shocking discovery, which was made in the company of her son, Terry.
Dr Carling-Jenkins, 42, had married telecommunications technician Gary Jenkins, 46, when she was a young single mother in her 20s.
They had dated and then married a year after meeting, with Dr Carling-Jenkins revealing she was attracted to the man because of what she thought were his strong Christian values.
Dr Carling-Jenkins said their 10-year marriage was fairly normal but she felt something was "not quite right" and thought her husband might be depressed, she told Insight.
Thinking her husband might be having an affair, in February 2016, and with her son's help, the Victorian MP logged on to her husband's computer - and was completely devastated by what she saw.
"I saw a number of icons on the screen, and I could see small images ... some were photos and some were videos and I started to click on them to see what it was," she said.
"They were all of children and all of little girls. I saw child rape."
Dr Carling-Jenkins said she became "hysterical" after seeing the disturbing imagery and admitted she would find it hard to ever trust a man again.
Will you face a $2500 fine for leaving your bins out? Here are the suburbs affected
Lifesaving surgery on python after it swallowed very unlikely meal
Canberra cafe gets revenge on thieves after repeat burglaries
She reported her husband to police, cut off all contact with him and his family, and revealed the horrifying details in an emotional speech in Parliament late last year.
Gary Jenkins was sentenced to four months in jail in March 2017 for the possession of child pornography, is a registered sex offender and will need to report to police for the next eight years.
"The thing that I will find the hardest now is the images of the children that I saw," she told Insight.
"I see a little girl with particular colour hair or a particular look on her face, that will trigger some of the images that I saw and that's something I think will take a lot longer to work through."
If you or someone you know if suffering from sexual or domestic abuse, don't suffer in silence - call 1800 RESPECT any time of day or night.
