Michael Stanley Cooper charged with possessing child abuse material
A registered child sex offender has been arrested after police allege they found devices containing thousands of child abuse material files.
Canberra Star
Don't miss out on the headlines from Canberra Star. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A registered sex offender has landed in court after a police raid allegedly found thousands of files containing child abuse materia.
Amaroo man Michael Stanley Cooper is facing a charge of possessing child abuse material.
He was arrested on Tuesday following a raid at his residence where officers from the ACT Joint Child Exploitation Team allege they found 500,000 files of child abuse material in USBs, DVDs, laptops, hard drives, and a computer with up to 500,000 child abuse material files.
His arrest follows a police investigation into a number of IP addresses associated with downloading child abuse material which began in October last year.
Mr Cooper did not enter a plea in the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday, and his lawyer applied for bail on his behalf.
His lawyer proposed strict bail conditions including Mr Cooper to surrender all electronic devices except for a mobile phone, to have a reporting condition, and not to be near children.
He said the charges against his client were “incredibly serious” and said Mr Cooper would know he was under supervision.
He said his client had shown a level of co-operation with police.
Prosecutors opposed bail and cited concerns about reoffending and failing to appear at court.
The prosecutor told the court Mr Cooper had previously been convicted of child abuse material related offences in 2011, and had been convicted in 2014 for failing to report to the sex offender register.
He also said Mr Cooper made concerning statements to the police during the raid when he allegedly said children depicted in the material had made “informed choices”.
Magistrate Robert Cook ultimately refused bail and stated no bail conditions were suitable to address the concerns raised by prosecutors
The case will return to court for a plea on March 29.
Super Rugby Women’s ready for Sevens superstars and expansion
Super Rugby women’s expansion plans are on the table as the 2025 competition prepares for an invasion of Sevens superstars hunting Wallaroos spots and players determined to thwart them.
Read more
Cops launch probe after gunshot concerns
Reports of gunshots ringing out and the discovery of a bullet hole-riddled car in the nation’s capital last week has sparked a police probe.
Read more