Conservative MP Rachel Carling-Jenkins silenced Victoria's state parliament by outing her husband Gary Jenkins as a pedophile, following the discovery of an extensive collection of child porn material within their family home last year.
Her life turned upside down, as Dr. Carling-Jenkins revealed how it was her son Terrence who found the pornography on his father's computer.
Both went immediately to the police and he was subsequently convicted and jailed for possessing child exploitation images.
In her speech, she described she is still haunted by the images of the little girls she saw.
"The faces of the children are etched in my memory for eternity," Dr. Carling-Jenkins told parliament on Thursday, September 7.
"I have been silent on this topic until now only because I would not do anything to interfere with police investigations or judicial proceedings, but these are completely over.
"And so it is time to speak out on behalf of the voiceless and the vulnerable in this story: the victims," the politician said.
I applaud what Rachel Carling-Jenkins did, it was gutsy & absolutely the right thing to do. I wish her & her son well #springst https://t.co/UzImFmuixK
— Jenny Mikakos MP (@JennyMikakos) September 7, 2017
"I pray that the police were able to identify and rescue as many of these poor helpless and vulnerable victims as possible. I find myself now unconsciously searching the faces of little girls that I see on the streets distressed when a face triggers a memory of a photo or a video of a little girl that I glimpsed in his collection.
"These little girls have lost their innocence, their childhood and their control. These little girls would not have been abused if people like my ex-husband did not provide a market for that abuse," she said.
Lives Turned Upside Down
Dr. Carling-Jenkins questioned the sentence handed down, saying: "a few months in jail" and being on the child sex offender list was not sufficient punishment given the seriousness of the crimes committed.
Stressing she never had suspicions her husband was addicted to child pornography, the politician confessed that she had no regrets as a mother or a wife in reporting and exposing this "dreadful crime."
"My son Terrence has no regrets either, but make no mistake, our lives were turned upside down that day of the discovery. My marriage ended instantly and I left home the day I made that discovery and I have not returned to the family home since, except to pick up belongings," she told parliament.
She should be applauded #courage
— paleo_on_a_pension (@dockergirl53) September 7, 2017
She did the right thing.
— David Redfearn (@DavidRedfearn1) September 7, 2017
Despite being left financially and mentally abused by her husband's actions, Dr. Carling-Jenkins said her nightmare continues as her ex-husband is refusing to sign divorce papers.
"I ceased all support the day I discovered that Gary had perpetrated such a horrendous crime. Unfortunately, in true felonious style, he has used out time apart to abuse me financially, emotionally and psychologically."
The MP revealed he had also made repeated attempts to contact her son despite having had little interest or investment in him previously.
As she left the parliamentary chamber, the Conservative politician was hugged by fellow MPs.
