Secret tapes to be probed for ‘interference’

Secret tapes at the centre of assault allegations against Ultra Tune magnate Sean Buckley by his bikini model ex will be probed to ensure they weren’t tampered with.

Sean Buckley with ex-girlfriend Jennifer Cruz Cole.

Secret tape recordings at the centre of assault allegations against high-flying Ultra Tune magnate Sean Buckley will be analysed to ensure they haven’t been tampered with, his lawyer says.

It comes as more details of the allegations surrounding Mr Buckley’s seven-month stalking campaign against his bikini model ex-girlfriend, Jennifer Cruz Cole, can be revealed.

Mr Buckley, 61, appeared in an online hearing in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday under his full name Peter Sean Buckley after being hit with 12 charges, including assault, making threats to kill, stalking, recklessly causing injury, maintaining listening devices and installing an optical device.

Police allege Mr Buckley threatened to kill Ms Cole, who dialled in for the virtual hearing, in an assault at Crown Casino where the couple were staying on January 18 last year.

Court documents allege he later hired others to plant listening devices inside her apartment and car, “keeping the victim under surveillance with the intention of causing physical or mental harm to the victim”.

The alleged stalking spanned from April 27 to December 2 last year.

Lawyer Remy van der Weil, for Mr Buckley, told the court they would need the case to be adjourned as they were yet to receive “a considerable quantity of material” which will form part of police’s evidence.

“There are many witness statements yet to be supplied,” he said.

“We have requested copies of photographs.

“We do have some medical records supplied to us, but certainly not all of them, in relation to Ms Cole.”

Sean Buckley is accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend Jennifer Cruz Cole and installing hidden cameras inside her apartment.

He said they had obtained “some of the CCTV footage which we believe the police have from Crown Casino” relating to the January 18 alleged assault.

But more recordings, believed to be taken on Ms Cole’s phone, were yet to be handed over.

“Once we do get the tape recording we probably want it examined by an expert,” he said.

“So we can see whether or not, if there has been some interference with any of that.”

Mr van der Weil fought to have public court documents kept hidden from the media, saying the “integrity of the material” was in question.

“The material behind the charges doesn’t necessarily meet up with the charges,” he said.

He also said the “adverse publicity would be fairly significant” for his client.

But magistrate Tara Hartnett released the charge sheets before adjourning the case to January 24.

Mr Buckley, who also owns racehorses, had been in a relationship with Ms Cole since 2017, but they separated in December last year. They have a three-year-old daughter.

They had lived together at Crown in Melbourne, with the multi-millionaire travelling between Victoria and his home on the Gold Coast in Queensland.

Two other men were also charged as part of police’s investigation into the stalking: Anthony Swords and Wade D’Andrea.

Mr Swords, 43, a former Mick Gatto associate who worked for Mr Buckley before a falling out, was excused from appearing when his case was called after his lawyer, Manjot Singh, said his client was “unwell”.

Mr Singh said they were open to resolving Mr Swords’ three charges: installing an optical device and two counts of stalking relating to alleged conduct on December 2 last year.

No further details were aired about his alleged involvement.

His case was adjourned to December 14.

Mr D’Andrea, 40, who is accused of engaging in stalking conduct including entering and loitering outside Ms Cole’s home and following her had his case adjourned to February 2.