Man charged with possessing and distributing child exploitation material

The lawyer of a man accused of possessing and distributing child exploitation material tried unsuccessfully to have the court closed during his client’s appearance in the South Burnett.

A man has faced Murgon court after being charged with possessing and distributing child exploitation material.

A lawyer attempted to have Murgon Magistrates court closed to the public on April 10, after his client was charged with possessing and distributing child exploitation material.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is charged with one count of distributing child exploitation material on a hidden network/anonymising service and one count of possessing child exploitation material on a hidden network/anonymising service.

The man is yet to enter any pleas.

His lawyer initially requested a closed court due to the presence of local media in the room.

“It’s in relation to the possession and distribution of CEM … during the argument it could be that my client could be disadvantaged in proceedings if the press are here,” lawyer Mark Oliver said.

A man has faced Murgon court after being charged with possessing and distributing child exploitation material.

Magistrate Anna Smith said she did not “have the power” to close the court unless it would reveal the identity of the child.

“Well I am going to mention a child’s name,” Mr Oliver said.

Police prosecutor Barry Stevens said Mr Oliver could just refer to the alleged victim as “child,” which Mr Oliver agreed to do.

Ms Smith argued all defendants were in the same position when media was in the courtroom.

“Courts have to be open and it’s open justice, really,” she said.

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Mr Oliver said the prosecutor would not allow the defendant to view some of the evidence which the prosecution referred to as “sensitive material,” which Ms Smith questioned.

“I don’t see how you can prevent it … he’s being charged with the possession of child exploitation material and distribution … he has to confirm that it’s a child and he has to see what the case is against him,” Ms Smith said.

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Sergeant Stevens agreed, but then revealed what some of the material allegedly contained.

“As I understand it is all prepubescent boys,” he said.

Mr Oliver said they needed to view the material so the defendant could explain whether or not he had accessed it himself and distributed it.

“We’ve just been advised that there are a number of videos … I think there’s 100 or something-odd videos on there,” he said.

Mr Oliver said the defendant was on a mental health plan and would be engaging a clinical psychologist for an IQ test.

There was a chance the case could go to the mental health court, he said.

“We will hold our horses, so to speak, until we get the report back to see whether he has capacity to instruct.

“Just because you’ve got something on your phone, he may not have seen it. The second charge is distributing it, you may or may not have distributed it,” he argued.

Ms Smith ordered police to arrange a time for the defendant to view the material.

The next hearing will be at Murgon Magistrates Court on July 17, 2024.