A young man faces 48 child exploitation material charges

A 22-year-old who was allegedly caught with more than 1000 pieces of child exploitation material in his possession has had his bail revoked 48 days after he was originally bailed.

A 22-year-old man has had his bail revoked as he fights 48 charges, including producing child exploitation material.

The man, who cannot be named due to a suppression order, was taken into custody in the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court in February.

A 22-year-old man has been charged with 48 counts relating to child exploitation material. Pic: File

Police allege the young man was engaging with at least 44 participants through an online forum, explaining his desires and what his sexual preferences are while also disseminating material.

“The material involved quite serious offending against babies and toddlers by adult men,” the police prosecutor told the court.

“When police seized the devices, he was in possession of over 1000 pictures and videos and on top of that he has communicated with 44 different chat rooms, where he sent over 600 of these child exploitation materials.”

Police made the application to revoke the man’s bail, despite him being granted simple bail back in December, saying the ‘true extent’ of the allegations had not been discovered.

“No form of bail is appropriate for the defendant due to the risk of reoffending,” prosecution said.

“Home detention requires him to have a mobile phone, his offending was done through a mobile phone where he has downloaded and disseminated child exploitation material.

“If he has a mobile phone, that will give him the opportunity to offend again.”

The man’s defence lawyer said their client deserved every opportunity to be placed on home detention bail, given his lack of history.

“He has been on bail for 48 days now, he was bailed for these allegations and there are no allegations that he has breached his bail … he has never been in prison,” said the lawyer.

“His parents would be extremely proactive in supporting him, this shows he will have support that others in this situation may not have.”

Reading through the material, Magistrate Paul Foley told the court the prosecution had a “strong” case before revoking the 22-year-old’s bail.

“In my reading, the charges if made out are serious and would almost always result in a sentence of imprisonment,” Magistrate Foley said.

“It’s a strong case and I accept there have been no breaches of bail since bail was granted.”

The man will return to court later this year.