Darwin man accused of child sex offending denied bail
A Darwin business owner accused of sexually abusing children overseas will spend Christmas behind bars after his application for bail was struck down.
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A Darwin business owner accused of sexually abusing children overseas will spend Christmas behind bars after his application for bail was struck down.
On Tuesday morning, the 50-year-old man, who cannot be legally identified at this stage of the proceedings, appeared in Darwin Local Court charged with four counts of child sex activity outside Australia, three counts of soliciting child abuse material, using a carriage service to groom, possessing or controlling child abuse material and accessing child abuse material.
The court heard NT Police arrested the man at Darwin International Airport at the weekend as he returned home from an overseas trip.
It was heard local authorities arrested the man based on a tip-off provided by the United States Department of Homeland Security.
The prosecution alleged the man was communicating with underage children and their “facilitators” in south-east Asia through an online chat blog.
“I would suggest some of these messages are too explicit to read in the courtroom,” the prosecution said.
“(The defendant) appears to have engaged with a number of facilitators in the Philippines – many of these people appear to be in a position of trust over these children.”
The defendant, sitting in the dock, could be seen shaking his head as the alleged nature of the chat blog communication was read out in court.
The man’s lawyer maintained his client was “not a flight risk” and was prepared to surrender his passport.
The court also heard the defendant needed to return to work to keep his business alive.
“He has legitimate business interests that need to be further progressed and without that the business will fail (and) he needs the finances to be able to mount the defences required.”
Judge Therese Austin denied bail.
“I am of the view this is a very serious case, that he is looking at an actual term of imprisonment if he is found guilty of these offences,” she said.
Ms Austin said she did not believe there were appropriate bail conditions that would “alleviate the risk re-offending”.
“In the face of such serious allegations involving children – even if they are in an overseas country – where they are being trafficked, if you like, with facilitators online,” she said.
“Even if these don’t actually involve allegations of active contact offending, I would suggest that is one of the most serious types of online offending that could have been provided and it’s really a case I am not of the view that bail should be granted.”
The man will reappear in Darwin Local Court on February 20, 2025 for a preliminary examination hearing.
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Originally published as Darwin man accused of child sex offending denied bail
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