Justin Radford: Wyong alleged child abuser’s fresh charges
A Central Coast man arrested as part of a national investigation into the creation and distribution of child abuse material has been served with several new charges, a court has heard.
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Investigators will serve fresh charges on a Central Coast man who allegedly played an active role in a national child abuse ring, a court has heard.
Justin Kenneth Radford, 29, was arrested by Australian Federal Police in February having allegedly filmed himself sexually abusing children and distributed the videos online.
He was hit with nine offences including doing and filming a sexual act on a child, inciting a child to perform a sexual act, use child to make child abuse material, two counts of sexually touch child, two counts of possessing or controlling child abuse material, one count of using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material and bestiality.
Central Local Court heard on Wednesday that Radford, of Wyong, will be hit with several new charges.
Radford’s lawyer Christian Hearn told the court the officer in charge of the investigation had informed him of the development but he had not received the new court papers.
An AFP spokesman said the fresh charges would be formally served at a later date.
Radford did not appear on screen as the matter was adjourned to June 9, with the court hearing the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions had passed the matter on to state prosecutors.
Radford remains behind bars and made no formal bail application on Wednesday.
His arrest came after the AFP’s Operation Arkstone began probing an online network in February following a tip off from the United States’ National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Information on devices seized during a raid of Radford’s home allegedly led police to at least three other alleged members of the network in May, including a Hervey Bay man in Queensland and two men from western Sydney.
Grant Harden, 30, of St Marys was charged with 10 offences including sexual intercourse with a child under 10, three counts of intentionally touch child under 10, bestiality, two counts of using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material, two counts of possessing or controlling child abuse material, and one count of possessing, controlling or producing child abuse material.
Airconditioning tradesman Richard Martin Spry, 48, of Glenwood faces one count of possessing child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service.
They remain before the courts.