MP's paedophile dwarf son WALKS FREE after pleading guilty to 35 child sex offences - with a judge handing him a suspended jail sentence
- Daniel James Knuth, 21, was sentenced to four years in prison, wholly suspended
- He was also given a five-year operational period and three years probation
- Knuth pleaded guilty to 35 child sex offence charges in Townsville court last year
- He used a fake profile and had sexually explicit conversations with 27 children
A paedophile dwarf who tricked young girls into sending him nude photos using a fake Facebook account will walk free after he was handed a suspended sentence.
Daniel James Knuth, 21, appeared at Townsville District Court on Friday morning where he was sentenced to four years prison, wholly suspended.
The sentence will be 'operational' for five years and will involve three years probation, a court spokesperson said.
Knuth had pleaded guilty to 35 child sex offences and was facing up to 15 years behind bars.
Those charges included possession of child exploitation material, using a carriage service for child exploitation material and grooming a child under 16.
Knuth appeared grim-faced as he arrived at court with his father, Queensland state Katter's Australian Party MP Shane Knuth.
Daniel Knuth was accompanied by his father, Queensland MP Shane Knuth at his sentencing at at Townsville Court on Friday morning
The paedophile with dwarfism was sentenced to four years prison, wholly suspended. He was also given an operational period of five years and three years of probation
He admitted to using a fake Facebook account to trick young girls into sending him nude photographs, saying no one would talk to him on his real profile
He admitted to using a fake Facebook account to trick young girls into sending him nude photographs, saying no one would talk to him on his real profile.
Under the guise of a personal trainer, Knuth engaged in sexually explicit conversations with 27 child victims between October 2016 and September 2017, the Townsville Bulletin reported.
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At an initial sentencing hearing in December, Knuth's defense barrister claimed prison would be a 'very difficult' environment for him due to his stature.
The defence lawyer said Knuth had undergone 17 surgeries to correct bone deformities.
Judge Greg Lynham said he had never seen this type of criminal behavior with such a high number of victims, and signalled he would be sending Knuth to jail.
Knuth pleaded guilty to 35 child sex offences including possession of child exploitation material, using a carriage service for child exploitation material and grooming a child under 16, in December
The 21-year-old is the son (bottom) of KAP Member for Hill Shane Knuth (middle) admitted to using a fake Facebook account to trick young girls into sending him nude photographs, saying no one would talk to him on his real profile
But Judge Lynham was held off sentencing him until the court had a complete understanding of the vulnerabilities of people with dwarfism face in a prison.
In March, the matter was brought to court again, where Judge Lynham ordered the Director of Public Prosecutions contact the manager of the Townsville Correctional Centre, to determine what Knuth's sentencing outcome would be.
'They can accommodate (some) sorts of conditions quite well', Judge Lynham told the court, 'but we have unique features here that I'm not sure whether the Townsville Correctional Centre has been confronted with before.
'In fairness to them they need to have an opportunity to consider how they might accommodate,' Judge Lynham said.
