Sir Ronald Brierley pleads guilty to possessing child abuse material, Ardern moves to revoke knighthood
Jacinda Ardern plans to strip the knighthood of businessman Ron Brierley after he pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern moved to strip high-profile businessman Ron Brierley of his knighthood on Thursday after the Sydney-based octogenarian pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography.
In what is believed to be an unprecedented move, Ardern’s office said she had launched action to remove the honour, which was bestowed on New Zealand-born Brierley in 1988.
The millionaire businessman pleaded guilty in a Sydney court to possessing graphic sexual images girls as young as two years old but disputes the amount of material police allege he secretly owned.
The elderly knight’s barrister Lisa-Claire Hutchinson asked that he not be required to stand in the Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday “due to his age” as she entered guilty pleas to three counts of possessing child abuse material.
After the short mention, the frail, retired tycoon was helped to his feet by his solicitor Penny Musgrave before leaving the court using a walking stick.
An additional 14 counts of the same charge laid upon the famed corporate raider were withdrawn and he has been committed to the District Court for sentence.
The offence carries a maximum jail term of 10 years prison.
It prompted a swift reaction from Ms Ardern’s office.
“There is a process for forfeiture, and the prime minister has asked for this to be initiated,” a spokesman said.
Brierley, 83, pleaded guilty in a Sydney court Thursday to three counts of possessing child abuse material.
He was arrested at Sydney airport in December 2019, with police at the time saying large amounts of child pornography were found on his laptop and hard drives during a luggage search.
Brierley earned a reputation as one of Australasia’s most feared corporate raiders in the 1980s, turning his Brierley Investments into New Zealand’s largest listed company.
He was knighted for his services to business management.
Now 83, Brierley was stopped by Australian Border Force officers at Sydney Airport after jetting in from Fiji in December 2019.
Australian Federal Police alleged at the time he was caught with thousands of images and videos on electronic devices found in his carry on bags and at his Point Piper mansion.
According to court documents, he has now confessed to having photographs stashed on storage devices showing young girls aged “approximately between 2 years to 15 years of age in sexually suggestive poses”.
One of the counts he pleaded guilty to states, as alleged in court documents, officers found 1615 images on a storage device when his eastern suburbs home was raided on December 17, 2019.
When Brierley was searched at the airport earlier that morning he was in possession of “one computer image” of child abuse material on a storage device, court documents state.
The court heard on Thursday that Brierley, who remains on bail, admitted to being in possession of “some images” but would dispute the figures alleged by police.
The charges that have now been withdrawn alleged the possession of tens of thousands more files discovered during the two searches, at the airport and at Brierley’s luxury home.
After the short mention, the frail, retired tycoon was helped to his feet by Ms Musgrave before leaving the court using a walking stick.
Brierley had been considered business royalty in both his birth country of New Zealand and adopted home of Australia.
The Wellington-born former head of the Bank of New Zealand was knighted in 1988 and also served on the board of the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust.
Brierley will return to court on April 30, 2021.
Additional reporting: AFP
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