Duncan Gray, who was a sergeant when medically discharged from NSW Police after 27 years in the force, was sentenced to 14 months in prison earlier this year after pleading guilty to nine different charges.
But a judge quickly cast doubt on the 59-year-old's appeal against his sentence, labelling his behaviour "egregious" and suggesting it showed a blatant disregard for women.
Gray's offences include intentionally recording and distributing intimate images without consent, stalking, intimidation and aggravated sexual touching.
The former police officer screenshotted images from video calls with multiple women while they were naked, often when they had explicitly told him not to, according to the agreed facts of his case.
On other occasions, the facts state he took photos and video footage without consent while engaged in sexual intercourse.
As Gray kicked off an appeal against the severity of his sentence in Parramatta District Court on Wednesday, Acting Judge James Bennett was quick to make his feelings known.
"The behaviour was he engaged in was egregious," he told the court before Gray's lawyer could begin his submissions.
On one occasion in July 2023, Gray took a friend to his girlfriend's home for the three of them to have sex, according to the court documents.
After they ate pizza on the couch, both men removed their clothes and stated their intent to "have some fun", before each began touching the complainant.
Later, Gray showed the same friend a photo he had taken without consent while having sex with another woman, telling him it was a "sneaky" one.
His other intimate image distribution charge stemmed from showing his partner a nude picture of another woman he had taken without consent.Â
Gray's lawyer Peter Guirguis suggested a jail sentence was disproportionate to the offending, in part because his client was genuinely and sincerely remorseful.
But Judge Bennett cast doubt on the assertion, pointing to a pre-sentence report where Gray had indicated he was under the impression he did have consent to capture images of the women because they were in a relationship.
"You want me to not put him in jail, not withstanding the serious nature of the conduct he engaged in?" Judge Bennett asked in court.
"(It was) an awful lack of respect."
Mr Guirguis sought an adjournment to gather evidence that he claims will show Gray's diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in the police force had contributed to the offending.
Gray was medically discharged from the police in 2024 and remained on about three-quarters of his sergeant's salary, his lawyer told the court.
The matter will return to court on July 8.
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