Albion Park man Brent Hazelton accused of importing child sex doll
The identity of a young Illawarra man accused of importing a child like sex doll from another country has been revealed in court.
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The identity of a young Albion Park man charged following an investigation into the importation of a child-like sex doll has been revealed in court.
Twenty-one-year-old Brent Hazelton was arrested at his home on March 4, after officers from the Australian Border Force launched an investigation into the importation of the doll.
Police will allege in court that in December 2019, ABF officers intercepted a package which was described as containing a ‘clothing display model’.
The package, addressed to a home in Albion Park, was examined and allegedly found to contain the lower half of a child-like sex doll.
Hazelton was stopped by ABF officers at Sydney Airport on February 22 after arriving back in Australia from an overseas holiday. An interview was conducted and his phone was seized. He was not arrested and was allowed to depart.
It will be alleged a later forensic examination of Hazelton’s phone revealed a folder containing child abuse material.
On March 4, ABF investigators and officers from the Lake Illawarra Police District executed a search warrant at his home in Albion Park. The 21-year-old was arrested and computers and a USB device were seized from his home.
Hazelton was charged with three offences, including two counts of importing prohibited Tier 2 goods without approval, namely child sex doll parts and child abuse material, and one count of possessing or controlling child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service.
Hazelton’s matter was mentioned for the first time by his lawyer at Port Kembla Local Court on Wednesday, however he was not present.
At the time of Hazelton’s arrest, ABF Acting Superintendent of Investigations NSW John Fleming said child-like sex dolls and digital images were symptomatic of the broader global threat posed by child sexual abuse.
“Recent research by the Australian Institute of Criminology suggests that the use of these dolls may lead to an escalation in child sex offences — from viewing online child abuse material to contact sexual offending,” Acting Superintendent Fleming said.
“This arrest shows our officers are committed and trained to detect, investigate and prosecute those who seek to import this abhorrent material into our community.”
The matter will return to court in June.