An Anglican priest who boasted online about his child abuse fantasies has pleaded guilty to transmitting child abuse material using a carriage service.

Former Sunshine vicar Philip John Murphy, 53, on Monday pleaded guilty to the offence, which was committed during numerous sexually explicit online conversations he had with men in 2016 and 2017.

Murphy spent several months chatting to paedophiles online about child abuse fantasies involving young boys before police seized his computer in February 2017.

Murphy told one man that he wanted to sexually abuse hundreds of children as young as two years old, prosecutor Jessica Mackay told the Victorian county court.

When the man told the priest he was “having some fun with a six-year-old boy with a slight handicap”, Murphy replied: “Nice, wish I could join you.”

Later, the priest told the man he would be willing to travel and meet them “but only if I know there is really young on offer”.

Murphy discussed abusing children on Skype after asking various men on gay dating app Grindr if they were interested in children between December 2016 and February 2017.

While chatting to one man who said he had two sons aged two and four, Murphy told the man, “I’m in a very pedo mood”.

Murphy was questioned about his online activities after he returned to Australia from a trip to Hong Kong in February 2017.

Police later searched his home and the Holy Apostles’ Anglican church, in Sunshine West, on 3 August 2017 and charged him with multiple child abuse material offences.

During his police interview, Murphy said he had been going through a personal crisis when he engaged in the online conversations.

“He said he had been drawn to the behaviour because of his depression,” Mackay said.

Murphy’s barrister, Geoffrey Steward, said his client was ashamed of his conduct and had shown significant remorse.

The defence has asked judge Phillip Coish not to jail Murphy and to consider his previously unblemished record.

“His voluntary contributions to the community have been extraordinary,” Steward said. “He has been a man who did not merely preach from the pulpit. He has been a man who went out into the community.”

He said Murphy’s crime was on the lower end of the scale because “they were words, not deeds”.

Murphy, who is on bail, is due back in court on Friday for sentencing.