A man has been sentenced for filming and sharing a video of a woman performing a sex act on a live brown trout.
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Ashley David Hallam initially denied charges of making or reproducing a bestiality product and possessing a bestiality product, but changed his plea to guilty earlier this year.
The charges relate to an incident in 2022 or early 2023, when Hallam filmed a woman performing a sex act on the live fish.
The graphic video showed the woman lying in the boat while a man held the fish and moved it against her vagina.
The video subsequently went viral on social media, prompting Tasmanian Police to investigate.
The couple that created the film was identified and arrested weeks later.
The woman was initially charged with the same offences as Hallam, but in the Hobart Magistrates Court on Monday, September 8, it emerged that prosecutors had dropped their case against her earlier this year.
In his sentencing submissions, Hallam's defence lawyer said the prosecution's decision raised questions of fairness. He also argued the decision not to proceed against her put into question the prosecution's claim Hallam's offending was serious.
"The DPP [Director of Public Prosecutions] made the decision not to contest charges against the co-defendant, but continued them against my client Mr Hallam," the defence lawyer told the court.
"The seriousness of the offending, as stated by the prosecutor, is somewhat undermined by that decision."
He said the legal principle of parity required people who commit the same crime to be given the same sentence.
But Magistrate Marica Duvnjak said she had been provided no information as to why the DPP had discontinued its case against the woman.
She said there could have been many reasons for the DPP's decision, and due to the absence of a co-accused, the parity principle could not be applied in Hallam's case.
The defence lawyer also said Hallam had only sent the video to six of his friends, and that he had not intended for the video to be uploaded to social media sharing sites.
Ms Duvnjak rejected that, saying Hallam ought to have known the video would be released widely on social media. The extensive publicity surrounding his client's prosecution caused major disruptions to Hallam's life, his lawyer said.
"Mr Hallam has been significantly impacted in regard to his ability to find work.
"His reputation in the [fishing] industry is ruined ... and he has limited funds available, even to pay for this legal assistance."
Ms Duvnjak said Hallam's offending was "serious" and "depraved". "The conduct appeared to show disregard for the welfare of the animal in question," she said.
She accepted that his plea of guilty had value and that he had demonstrated remorse for his conduct.
She sentenced Hallam to five months' imprisonment, wholly suspended for 18 months on condition that he commit no new offences punishable by prison time.
She also ordered him to serve an 18-month community corrections order and to complete 75 hours of community service.
