Aaron Pennesi: Matraville man, high school employee faces Waverley Local Court after identity fraud, child abuse material allegations

The identity of a school employee, allegedly busted with child abuse material after he was accused of hacking work computers to steal staff members’ credit card details, can now be revealed.

Aaron Pennesi’s matter was mentioned at Waverley Local Court. Picture by Damian Shaw

A high school employee was allegedly busted with over 60 videos of child abuse after he deployed malware on a school’s computers.

Matraville man Aaron Pennesi, 27, had his matter briefly mentioned in Waverley Local Court on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old is charged with possessing child abuse material, possessing identity information with the intent to commit fraud, unauthorised modification of a computer’s data and two counts of deploying malicious software to commit fraud.

Pennesi was allegedly caught with child abuse material. Generic image.

It was previously reported that Cybercrime Squad detectives commenced an investigation into Pennesi after malware was reportedly found on a Sydney high school’s computers.

On March 4, detectives spoke to Pennesi and, in a disturbing twist, allegedly found child abuse material on his phone.

The material was not linked to the school or any students.

Court documents state the 27-year-old allegedly possessed 61 videos and 29 images of category one and two child abuse material.

He was also charged with allegedly deploying malware on a school’s computers.

The matter was mentioned at Waverley Local Court.

Police will allege in court the malware on the school computers was in various stages of development and deployment, with at least 41 members of staff having had their credentials captured.

According to court documents, some of the identification information Pennesi allegedly possessed included credit cards, a Medicare card, a NSW drivers license number and a Department of Education visa.

He was arrested earlier this year. File image.

In a previous statement, Commander of State Crime Command’s Cybercrime Squad, Detective Superintendent Matt Craft praised the Department of Education for identifying this issue so early.

“The Department of Education cyber team have a robust system able to detect these types of offences, and it’s through their diligent work that this issue was reported early, and the offender detained quickly,” he said.

“Teachers and staff at our schools are in a position of responsibility and privilege; and anyone that abuses that position will be dealt with accordingly by law enforcement.”

Pennesi was arrested on March 26 and granted strict conditional bail. He will be excused at the next appearance if he is legally represented.

The NSW Department of Education previously confirmed the accused is no longer working at the high school.

He will return to court on June 19.