UTS engineering student Reeve Mohat granted Supreme Court bail on child abuse material charges

A mechanical engineering student from Sydney’s east told police he could “hide s--t way easier” after he was allegedly caught with thousands of child abuse material files, a court has heard.

A tech-savvy engineering student from Sydney’s eastern suburbs accused of possessing thousands of child abuse material files allegedly told police he “could hide s-–t way easier”, a court has heard.

Paddington man Reeve Mohat, 22, was granted Supreme Court bail on Wednesday after spending five months and five days in custody on remand on six charges of possessing child abuse material and two counts of possessing an unauthorised weapon.

He has pleaded guilty to one of the weapons charges.

The University of Technology Sydney student was arrested on November 12 after police searched a Paddington terrace house where he lives with his mother.

Police allegedly located a “significant number of devices” including two USBs and a Dell computer, said to contain “thousands” of files depicting female children between the ages of six and 14, along with encrypted conversations sharing the content with others.

Mohat is in his final semester at the University of Technology Sydney.

In opposing bail, the prosecutor cited the risk of further offending given Mohat’s proficiency with technology.

“The Crown’s concern is detection of these offences is difficult, as the applicant (Mohat) made comments to police in his interview that he himself is tech savvy and ‘could hide s-–t way easier’,” the prosecutor said.

Mohat’s bail conditions bar him from accessing encrypted applications

In response, a defence solicitor said “stringent and effective” bail conditions, which included dramatically restricting Mohat’s internet access, could mitigate the risks raised by the Crown.

The solicitor also said Mohat had already given police passcodes and access to the seized devices, and there was no suggestion the alleged offending went beyond being online.

“There’s no suggestion of there being an escalation of the conduct aside from online activity, no suggestion of hands on contact,” he said.

The solicitor said Mohat was in his final semester of a mechanical engineering degree, for which he needed internet access.

In choosing to grant bail, Justice Andrew Coleman laid out conditions which barred Mohat from possessing a smartphone, and allowed him internet access only for the purpose of study.

Under the rules, Justice Coleman allowed Mohat to possess only one device with internet capability, for which he must provide the passcode to police within 12 hours of acquiring it.

He also barred him from being in the company of a person under 18 unless accompanied by an acceptable guardian.

Mohat was granted bail to live with his mother in Paddington and must report to police three times a week.

His matters will return to Downing Centre Local Court on May 13.