Aaron Amson charged with online grooming of ‘13-year-old’ girl
A western Sydney man charged over the alleged online grooming of a person he believed was a teenage girl has asked to be released from jail to care for his wife.
Penrith
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A man charged over alleged online grooming has told a Sydney court his wife would not survive if he remained behind bars.
Aaron Amson was arrested and charged yesterday following an investigation by detectives from the Child Abuse and Sex Crime Squad’s Child Exploitation Internet Unit.
Police will allege Mr Amson, 39, of St Marys, had online conversations with a person he believed was a 13-year-old girl but was in fact detectives.
During these conversations, police allege Mr Amson spoke about sex acts he wanted to perform on the teenager.
On Wednesday, detectives executed a search warrant at a home in St Marys and seized mobile phones and electronic storage devices.
Mr Amson was charged with using a carriage service to groom persons under 16 years of age. A plea has not been entered.
In Penrith Local Court on Thursday, he applied for bail, saying his wife had early onset dementia and relied on him as her primary carer and the household breadwinner.
“I simply want to get out to look after my wife,” he said.
“I’m scared that she will do something stupid.”
He said he intended to fight the charges until “the very end”.
The prosecution opposed bail and submitted Mr Amson’s concerns for his wife were not at the “forefront” of his mind at the time of the alleged offending.
The police prosecutor said Mr Amson posed a “real threat” to the most vulnerable parts of society.
Bail was formally refused by Magistrate Fiona Toose.
The matter was adjourned to July 31.