Hornsby: Cop Mitchell Leslie charged with 200,000 child abuse images, bestiality material and accessing restricted data

A police officer allegedly caught with 200,000 child abuse and bestiality images was allegedly accessing the cops’ database to protect his lover, a court has heard.

Senior Constable Leslie appeared at Hornsby Local Court on Tuesday. Picture: Matthew Vasilescu

A NSW policeman was allegedly in possession of 200,000 child abuse images and bestiality material, as well as accessing the cops’ database to protect his lover, a court has heard.

Senior Constable Mitchell Leslie faced Hornsby Local Court on Tuesday on seven charges including possessing child abuse material, possessing bestiality material, three counts of accessing restricted data and one count of misconduct in public office.

Police will further allege Leslie used the COPS internal police database to protect his lover from being detected driving unlawfully, and to help her brother avoid detection on domestic violence offences.

His barrister Imogen Hogan applied for bail, telling the court her client was currently receiving psychological treatment in Brisbane Water Private Hospital after spending three weeks as a mental health inpatient at Gosford Public Hospital.

She said Constable Leslie, 38, was involved in the arrest of several prominent outlaw motorcycle gang members and as such faced “significant risks” if he was to be remanded in custody.

Dressed in a blue button-up checkered shirt, Constable Leslie rocked back and forth in the dock from time to time, and glanced across at his parents seated in the public gallery, but said nothing during his appearance.

Ms Hogan tendered an affidavit from Constable Leslie’s mother which said he hoped to continue his treatment at Brisbane Water Private Hospital until he could get a bed at a specialist “first responder” PTSD treatment program at Kellyville Private Hospital.

Leslie has been receiving treatment at Brisbane Water Private Hospital.

She said Constable Leslie no longer had access to his police database and the fear of custody was “itself” reason to comply with any strict bail conditions.

But the Crown prosecutor opposed bail, telling the court Constable Leslie had been adequately treated for PTSD while serving as a police officer.

She said he was only admitted to hospital on May 30, which was the day police raided his home and he would have been charged sooner if it were not for concerns about his mental health.

She alleged Constable Leslie was found in possession of “200,000 images of child abuse material” on his private laptop and was a serving officer when he allegedly accessed the internal police database to give information to someone “he was having an intimate relationship with”.

The court heard Constable Leslie presented himself to Hornsby Police Station on Tuesday at the request of officers from the Professional Standards Command, who established Strike Force Blumont in March to investigate the reports of unauthorised access.

On May 30, strike force investigators seized Constable Leslie’s electronic devices, which have since been forensically examined.

He is suspended without pay and an urgent review of his employment status is underway.

Charge sheets tendered in court allege Constable Leslie accessed the COPS database on three occasions to look up the profile of a woman he was in an intimate relationship with, her brother, and another man.

The charges allege he did this “knowing (she) was driving unlawfully and (took) actions to protect her from detection”.

The charges further allege he looked up her brother to help him avoid domestic violence allegations and misused a police vehicle when he drove her to and from Goulburn.

He is further accused of providing his lover a letter on a NSW Police letterhead to help her with priority housing, which was “outside the scope of his duty” and did so to continue an extramarital affair.

Magistrate Michael O’Brien said ultimately he was unsatisfied any conditions would alleviate the risk of Constable Leslie fleeing the jurisdiction, committing further offences or interfering with witnesses and refused him bail.

He will reappear at Downing Centre Local Court on September 10.