Disgraced former South Australian MP Bernard Finnigan, now a "frightened and socially isolated man", has had a conviction recorded but has escaped an immediate jail term for a child porn offence.
District Court Judge Steven Millsteed recorded the conviction on Wednesday, rejecting defence submissions not to do so.
He also imposed a 15-month jail term but suspended the sentence, instead placing Finnigan on a three-year good behaviour bond after finding him guilty last month on one count of accessing child pornography.
The judge said Finnigan's offending was not an isolated or impulsive act and warranted public condemnation.
However, he said some people had stooped to criminal behaviour in venting their anger with the former Labor MP and state government minister subject to death threats and having his house vandalised.
"You have become a frightened and socially isolated man," Judge Millsteed said.
On Christmas Eve 2010, Finnigan used a number of search terms associated with child pornography to access a serious of internet pages.
He viewed some or all of the content with many of images of girls who appeared to be in their early teens. Some appeared to be aged under 12.
Judge Millsteed said Finnigan's offending was at the lower end of the scale but remained a serious breach of the law.
Child pornography "encouraged the vile degradation and sexual exploitation of children", he said.
The judge said Finnigan had also admitted to an addiction with adult pornography and had shown no remorse or contrition for his offending.
And because the court had not been provided with any psychological of psychiatric assessments, it was impossible to make an assessment of the risk of the 42-year-old offending again.
Before his arrest Finnigan had worked as a senior union official and entered parliament's upper house in 2006, filling a casual vacancy.
He was elevated to Labor government ministry in 2011 in the industrial relations portfolio but resigned less than two months later after being arrested.
He was expelled from the Labor Party soon after but continued to sit in parliament as an independent.
Finnigan quit the parliament two days after the guilty verdict was handed down and Judge Millsteed said his future employment prospects were bleak.
As a convicted offender his name will also be included on the child sex offender's register.
Finnigan offered no comment outside court.
An earlier statement said he was considering an appeal but there has been no word on whether one will proceed.
Former friend and Labor factional ally, Health Minister Jack Snelling, declined to offer an opinion on whether or not Finnigan should have gone to jail.
Mr Snelling said sentencing was "entirely a matter for the courts".
The minister said the question of whether or not Finnigan should be forced to pay back some of the wages he received as an MP while the case proceeded through the courts was not a matter he had given much thought to.
"I don't know how practical or possible that would be," he said.
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