Glen Hill: Kingsford child sex offender back in court
A child sex offender has appeared in court over the alleged use of an Instagram account and a weapon charge relating to him being found with “toy” nunchucks and knuckle dusters.
Southern Courier
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A Kingsford child sex offender who allegedly took to Instagram to sell DVDs in contravention of his strict prohibition order has been granted bail.
Glen Hill, 36, appeared in Waverley Local Court via videolink in prison greens from Parklea Correctional Centre breathing heavily through his surgical mask.
He was charged on July 21 with two counts of failing to comply with his reporting conditions at Maroubra Police Station, two counts of possessing a prohibited weapon and one count of contravening a prohibition order for using a social media account under any name other than Glen Hill.
The weapon charge relates to him being found with “toy” nunchucks and knuckle dusters
He pleaded not guilty to all five charges and will next appear in court on September 16.
Hill’s lawyer Dev Bhutani of Legal Aid told Magistrate Allison Hawkin his client would be fighting all the charges.
He said his client’s use of the @ebaymadhouse Instagram account was to promote DVDs to sell online – an occupation officers supervising him were well aware of.
It is also alleged Hill has been operating an email alias to which he is not permitted.
“There’s nothing in the facts that suggests he was using his Instagram account to groom or contact children,” Mr Bhutani said.
Mr Bhutani also gave some context to the weapons charges, describing the nunchucks as “plastic” and the knuckle dusters as “covered with foam” and categorising them as “toys”.
Hill was supported in court by his mother, who is in the advanced stages of liver cancer. His new fiance was also in court.
Mr Bhutani explained Hill’s Extensive Supervision Order relating to his child sex offence had expired and described his relationship with his partner as “age appropriate and healthy”.
Hill remains on a Child Protection Prohibition Order.
Magistrate Hawkins rejected Mr Bhutani’s argument that his “overweight” client was at risk in Parklea, which has reported one positive case of coronavirus, but nevertheless granted him bail citing an updated document assessing his risk to the community as low.