WA paedophile has jail time reduced

A serial pedophile whose crimes included recording himself sexually abusing children in the toy aisles of a Perth department store has had his sentence reduced to 12 years after an appeal.

Peter Anthony Lewsam pleaded guilty and was sentenced last year over 120 charges of abuse against 75 children between 2012 and 2015.

He was originally sentenced to 16-and-a-half years in jail, but on Tuesday, the Court of Appeal reduced the term in a unanimous decision.

The court ruled the total effective sentence exceeded what would usually be imposed "in even the most serious cases involving repeated and sustained sexual conduct of the most intrusive kind by a parent or adult in a position of trust".

In resentencing Lewsam, Justice Robert Mitchell said the children were entitled to feel safe playing in the toy aisle of a department store.

"The appellant took advantage of the vulnerability of those small children to satisfy his own deviant sexual urges," he said.

Lewsam was arrested after the father of a four-year-old girl interrupted him while he was abusing her.

He must serve at least 10 years behind bars before he can be released.