A former Jetstar employee has been sentenced to jail but released on a court order after he was found with dozens of files of child abuse material that he told police were ‘fun to have’.
Chanthakone Nouanphanthakoun, who also goes by the first name Jackson, was arrested in December 2024 by Australian Border Force (ABF) after flying home to Australia from Thailand.
At the time of his arrest, the 25-year-old was working as a customer service agent for airport ground service provider Swissport in Victoria, according to social media.
Before then, he had worked for more than 18 months as a flight attendant for the airline Rex [Regional Express] and, before that, as a customer service agent for Jetstar for two months.
County Court heard on Monday that Nouanphanthakoun handed airport security his phone after landing at an Australian airport when asked if he had any items in his pocket, The Herald Sun reported.
The phone had 111 files of child abuse material stored in his iCloud and messages, including a ‘vault’ mobile application with a folder named ‘kids’, the court was told.
He was also charged with sending, in April 2021, a video showing two children aged between five and eight engaging in sexual activity, the court heard.
While interviewed by police, Nouanphanthakoun said many images had been auto-saved from a WhatsApp group that he said he had left by the time of his arrest, the court was told.
Chanthakone Nouanphanthakoun, who also goes by the first name Jackson, was sentenced to 10 months in jail for child abuse material charges
He will not serve time behind bars as he was released from custody on a recognisance order – which requires him to be of good behaviour for three years
Nouanphanthakoun told officers he ‘deleted’ a significant part of the material but kept some because he ‘thought it’d be fun to have’, the court heard.
On Monday, Judge Anthony Lewis sentenced him to 10 months in jail on child abuse material charges.
He will not serve time behind bars as he was released from custody on a recognisance order – which requires him to be of good behaviour for three years.
The court was told Nouanphanthakoun had potential for rehabilitation and showed remorse for his offending.
‘The trade and engagement of child abuse material supports an industry founded on the exploitation of children incapable of protecting themselves,’ Judge Lewis said.
‘The harm is both immediate and long lasting as their images will likely remain accessible indefinitely.’
The court heard that the former Jetstar employee’s offences were ‘lacking sophistication’ and were considered on the ‘lower end’ of child abuse material-related cases.
Judge Lewis said Nouanphanthakoun’s ‘immaturity’ during the period of offending ‘likely contributed’.
The Daily Mail has contacted Nouanphanthakoun for comment, along with Swissport.
Jetstar declined to comment. Rex confirmed Nouanphanthakoun had ceased employment with the company in July 2024.
