Sir Brierley porn case delay as cops analyse 25,000 extra images
Prosecutors told a Sydney court at least 25,000 extra images had been discovered in July in connection to the child porn charges against multi-millionaire and former Sydney Cricket Ground Trust board member Sir Ron Brierley.
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Detectives are pouring through thousands of newly discovered images following the arrest of corporate raider Sir Ron Brierley on child porn charges, a court has been told.
Brierley’s case was mentioned in the Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday after the 83-year-old from Point Piper was charged with six counts of possessing child abuse material.
The Kiwi-born, retired multi-millionaire was arrested by police at Sydney airport as he was about to board a flight to Fiji last December, following a tip off to Crime Stoppers.
Police allege in court documents Brierley possessed photographs and videos of young girls aged between about two and 15 in sexually suggestive poses, along with word documents of typed stories that spoke of the rape of children.
The court was told authorities had seized 20 electronic devices and had already sifted through more than 680,000 images to look for child abuse material after his arrest.
In court, prosecutor Kenny Ng asked for an adjournment because police needed additional time to examine more computer files after at least 25,000 extra images were discovered in July.
“It’s a matter that involves a very large amount of electronic material,” he said “I’m told by the (officer in charge) that there are another 44,000 photos that require analysis.
“I’m asking for eight weeks so that those materials can be extracted and analysed.”
However, Brierley’s defence lawyer Lisa-Claire Hutchinson said prosecutors could instead use a representative sample of the material seized to speed up the court process.
“No satisfactory explanation has been offered for the delay,” she said. “There is no complexity to the access of these devices, were talking about USBs, tablets.”
Magistrate Michael Antrum questioned the delay but agreed to adjourn the matter.
“It’s in circumstances where there is a substantial number of alleged images of child abuse material,” he said.
The matter will return to court on September 17.
Police looked into the former Sydney Cricket Ground Trust board member after a tip-off to Crime Stoppers in 2019.
A passionate cricket fan, Brierley’s wealth has been valued at over $100 million.
He was knighted in 1988 for his services to business.