A cup of spit has been thrown at former Channel Nine reporter Ben McCormack while leaving court after being given a three-year good behaviour bond over child pornography charges.

As McCormack left a Sydney court, a man threw a cup of liquid at him and hurled abuse, calling him a "filthy maggot".

The man who threw the liquid said it contained his saliva.

In September, the 43-year-old former A Current Affair reporter pleaded guilty to using a carriage service to promote child pornography.

Ben McCormack had pleaded guilty to child pornography charges. ( AAP: David Moir )

He exchanged explicit messages on Skype for almost two years with a man who was in Western Australia, but no pictures or videos were involved.

In giving him a three-year good behaviour bond and ordering him to provide $1,000 security, NSW District Court Judge Paul Conlon said the talks McCormack had with the other man on Skype were fantasising.

He said McCormack had acknowledged his wrongdoing and sought professional help for his paedophilic tendencies years before his arrest.

The judge said the facts of the case were different from other child pornography cases he had dealt with because most of the cases involve videos or photos of children.

He said McCormack had not tried to groom young people for sex.

"There has been no attempt to sexually abuse children," the judge said.

Judge Conlon told the court McCormack's offences were at the lower end of the range of seriousness, he had no prior convictions and was otherwise of good character.

The judge referred to a doctor's report that noted McCormack had suffered anxiety and a social phobia which he had tried to manage with alcohol.

The court heard his offences were committed while he was drinking and he had a "self loathing" that had escalated since his arrest.

The judge said McCormack was admitted to hospital earlier this year after a suicide attempt.

Judge Conlon said McCormack had shown remorse, had suffered reputational damage and needed to keep receiving psychiatric treatment.

"He has shown a willingness to accept responsibility," he said.

"He will never again be able to work in the media."

The maximum sentence McCormack could have received was 15 years in jail.

His lawyer Sam Macedone welcomed the non-custodial sentence and said McCormack just wanted to get on with his life.

He said his client did not know the man who abused him outside court.

"He pleaded guilty. He was guilty of words only and not actions," Mr Macedone said.

"As I said to him it's a step-by-step thing. Don't think too far ahead. Just take things slowly. Nothing's impossible."

