Linton John Milne, 29, of Logans Beach Road, Warrnambool, was yesterday sentenced to 12 months' jail with a four-month non-parole period.

The sentence came after Milne pleaded guilty on Monday to possessing and producing child pornography. The producing charge related to downloading the images onto a disc.

Milne, who the court heard had been distressed during his time in custody, appeared in court with a thick beard and self-inflicted scratches on his face, as his family watched on.

Warrnambool Magistrates Court was told Milne downloaded 38,900 child pornographic images and about 60 hours of video footage of child pornography.

On Monday, Magistrate Ian von Einem was left shocked after viewing some of the images, which Milne had collected since 2002.

In August last year Austrian authorities passed on information to Australian police after an international investigation.

Police prosecutor Senior Constable Kevin Mullins said Milne's offending helped created demand for the abuse of children.

While his downloading of images might not lead Milne to physically assault children, Senior Constable Mullins said "someone somewhere has been harmed as a result of the underground industry" which Milne was a part of.

Milne's conduct was not characterised by "peaking" but gratification, as the files had been systematically catalogued.

Milne's defence counsel Tony Robinson conceded the material was at the "top end", but he said it was "a matter of shock to (Milne's) family and everyone else".

Magistrate Ian von Einem said he found it hard to imagine three or four-year-olds being abused in such a way as depicted in the images obtained by Milne.

Mr von Einem said Milne had a good family and, "but for this event, you could have got on with your life in a meaningful way".

Mr von Einem acknowledged that Milne had overcome drug and alcohol problems, shown some naivety in his offending and assisted police with their inquiries.

He also recognised positive references from two of Milne's female friends.

"It would seem to some extent that you were capable of having some meaningful relationships with a female."

He referred to a similar, previous case to point out that Milne's offending could not be "characterised as a victimless crime".

"The children in the end are the victims," he said.

Milne will be eligible for parole in February and has been placed on the sex offenders' register.