HIV-positive alleged paedophile Jadd William Brooker granted bail – but prosecutors plan to appeal
An accused paedophile who allegedly said he wants to infect children with HIV has been granted bail by a magistrate despite police outlining more shocking allegations – as one of his alleged victims awaits an AIDS test.
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The HIV-positive alleged paedophile accused of wanting to infect children with the virus has been granted bail despite police warnings he had repeatedly pursued underage adolescents for sex and attempted to destroy potential evidence.
On Thursday, the Christies Beach Magistrates Court released Jadd William Brooker to live with his grandmother on home detention, and banned him from accessing the internet.
However, he will stay in custody for now as prosecutors plan to appeal the decision in the Supreme Court.
SA Police had urged the court not to free Brooker, saying that since his court appearance last week they had gathered evidence showing:
ONE of the teenagers with whom Brooker allegedly had sex had not been told of the accused paedophile’s HIV status.
THAT same teenager was the subject of hundreds of pieces of child exploitation material, of the “worst kind” recognised by the law, allegedly created by Brooker.
WHEN Brooker’s mother called him in prison and volunteered to delete his Facebook account, he asked her to wipe other accounts on his behalf.
BROOKER had pursued 19 other children, aged between 13 and 16, for sex online and is connected with other alleged paedophiles all around the world.
Despite those concerns, Magistrate Rodney Oates said Brooker had no prior criminal history, no previous breaches of bail and the presumption of innocence.
“I do take into account the fact other charges are being investigated but, in relation to this bail application, I must focus on the charges that are before this court,” he said.
“Conditions and measures can be put in place to ensure the integrity of the ongoing investigation.”
Brooker, 38, of Glenelg East, has yet to plead to multiple aggravated and basic counts of disseminating and possessing child exploitation material.
Prosecutors allege those offences occurred between December 2015 and August this year.
They further allege Brooker had ongoing, illegal sexual relationships with two male teenagers – one of whom has since died by suicide – that will be the subject of more charges.
Investigators also allege they have evidence showing Brooker’s “intention to infect both children and adults with HIV”.
Last week, they told the court they expected to make up to 40 more arrests following an analysis of Brooker’s computers and internet use.
On Thursday, police prosecutors said Brooker should not be released.
“(The surviving victim) was unaware of Brooker’s medical status when they engaged in sexual activity, and he is currently undergoing medical testing,” they said.
“Police have monitored Brooker’s prison calls ... his mother asked if she should delete his Facebook page because there’s been a lot of negative comments and threats made.
“He asked her to delete his Microsoft Live account and provided his email address and password.
“Given the nature of the charges, a lot of potential evidence is stored in the cloud – potentially millions of pieces of evidence – and this is an attempt to destroy it before police can uncover it.”
They said the surviving victim was also speaking to police and giving a statement.
“We’ve identified that Brooker has been speaking to people all over the world, disseminating and receiving child exploitation material,” they said.
“A lot of that material has been identified as Category 5, the most serious form, and the person depicted in it is (the surviving victim).
“Brooker has induced him to partake in activities and then disseminated this to other people.”
They said they had no confidence Brooker would stay offline if bailed.
“We have identified 19 conversations between Brooker and other people, between the ages of 13 and 16, over Skype and Telegram,” they said.
“In each, child exploitation material is either being disseminated or received … these need to be investigated and, in this day and age, it’s almost impossible to prevent someone accessing the internet.”
Counsel for Brooker said the court could give no regard to charges that had yet to be filed, arguing their client’s clean record made him a suitable candidate for bail.
Mr Oates agreed, releasing Brooker on $1000 bail to live with his grandmother under 24-hour electronic monitoring.
He banned Brooker from using the internet, communicating with anyone under the age of 18 and ordered he turn over any internet-accessible devices to the authorities upon their request.
Brooker’s mother and grandmother will also serve as guarantors in the amount of $500 each.
Prosecutors said they would challenge Mr Oates’ decision by way of an appeal to the Supreme Court – Brooker’s release has been postponed pending a hearing.