NSW man charged with child abuse offences as police probe crypto use
In this news:
Key takeaways
- A 29-year-old New South Wales man was arrested and charged with child abuse offences.
- Police allege the accused used cryptocurrency to purchase and produce illicit material online.
- The judge denied the bail application due to the severity of the charges and risk to the community.
A New South Wales man has been charged with using cryptocurrency to purchase child abuse material.
Detectives executed a search warrant on Wednesday morning at a home in North Albury, where they seized electronic devices, drugs, and other items for forensic examination.
Jamie Bell, 29, was arrested and taken to Albury Police Station where he was charged with possessing prohibited drugs, producing and possessing child abuse material, and producing animal sexual abuse material.
He was also charged with possessing a child-like sex doll and breaching bail.
NSW Police said the arrests were made by the Cybercrime Squad as part of Strike Force Angle, an ongoing investigation into the use of cryptocurrency to “disseminate, purchase and produce” child abuse material online.
Bail application denied
Mr Bell appeared in the NSW Bail Division Court via video link this morning and his lawyer, Malek Alzaim, applied for bail.
Mr Alzaim told the court that the accused was a vulnerable person suffering from schizophrenia and living with autism, ADHD, anxiety and several other mental health conditions.
The court heard he received a disability pension, NDIS support, and needed a depot injection for his schizophrenia on September 30.
Mr Alzaim said Mr Bell lived independently in his own home but had a close relationship with his father, who visited him every day.
Police prosecutors told the court the accused was on bail after being charged with sexual intercourse with a person under 10 years old.
He is due to face the NSW District Court on those separate charges at a later date.
The court heard that all of Mr Bell's electronic devices had been taken and that he faced a high chance of a custodial sentence if found guilty.
Prosecutors told the court that message threads to AI models were found, along with a sex doll that imitated the genitalia of children.
Judge Miranda Moody agreed that Mr Bell posed a dangerous threat to the community and could be a risk if he failed to appear in court on bail.
She said that even though all devices were removed, the alleged incidents were “quite planned”.
“He's clearly got some computer ability to have not only possessed but produced this material using AI and other such features,” Judge Moody said.
“In all the circumstances, as I say, cause is not shown and bail is refused.”
Judge Moody refused Mr Bell's bail application and ordered that he appear in Albury Local Court via video link in November.
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