Kyle Jordan Free: Gold Coast man charged with child abuse material fights to be able to watch Netflix

A Gold Coast man forced to live in a Brisbane hostel because his wife kicked him out of home after he was charged by police has fought to be able to stream movies to cure his boredom.

Legal Aid Queensland solicitor Paul Hamilton and defendant Kyle Jordan Free, 40, leaving Southport Magistrates Court, November 19, 2025. Picture: Alex Treacy

A Gold Coast man forced to live in a Brisbane hostel after his wife kicked him out of home following his being charged with child abuse material offences has fought to be able to watch Netflix to cure his boredom.

Kyle Jordan Free, 40, appeared in Southport Magistrates Court on November 19 for an application to vary bail.

Mr Free was charged earlier this year with possessing and distributing child exploitation material via the use of a hidden network/anonymising service, and using a carriage service to access child abuse material.

Police allege the offences were committed on July 31 this year at an address at Tamborine Mountain.

Most of the requests were not opposed by police.

Legal Aid Queensland solicitor Paul Hamilton and defendant Kyle Jordan Free, 40, leaving Southport Magistrates Court, November 19, 2025. Picture: Alex Treacy

Mr Free’s bail was varied to allow him to live at an address in Fortitude Valley and report to police only weekly, instead of three times a week.

Communicating with his lawyer Paul Hamilton via email was also added to the limited list of reasons Mr Free was able to access the internet.

Mr Free’s final request, that he be allowed to access the internet for the purposes of downloading and watching Netflix, was opposed by police.

Mr Hamilton told the court his client’s wife had left him after Mr Free was charged, and so he had been forced to live in a hostel with five other men in his room.

The lawyer said the hostel only put on movie nights twice a week.

Magistrate Veena Goverdhan said she didn’t have time to watch Netflix and so was unfamiliar with its content, expressing concern Mr Free would be able to watch child abuse via the platform.

“I can assure you there’s not [material of that nature on Netflix],” Mr Hamilton said.

Magistrate Goverdhan expressed further concerns the condition would be difficult to monitor.

“If I allow him access to Netflix, what am I supposed to say, he can only watch drama or comedy?” she asked.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Nicole Jackson told the court Mr Free was facing “quite severe” charges, and stressed that the internet prohibition had been put in place for a reason.

The matter appeared to be finely balanced, but after Sergeant Jackson told the court the defendant was convicted last month of breaching his bail by downloading Instagram and attempting to create an account, for which he was fined $300 with no conviction recorded, Mr Free’s bid crumbled.

Mr Hamilton told the court his client had wanted an account to communicate with other men from the hostel after they had exited the facility, but advised the court his client would not press his Netflix request.

Mr Free’s charges were adjourned to January 29, 2026.

Originally published as Kyle Jordan Free: Gold Coast man charged with child abuse material fights to be able to watch Netflix