Brierley set to fight child porn counts, court hears
Former corporate raider makes his first brief appearance in Sydney courtroom
Business tycoon Sir Ron Brierley will fight charges of possessing child abuse material that is alleged to have included photographs and video of children as young as 2 years old, and written stories that featured the rape of children.
The details followed his first court appearance on the charges in a central Sydney courtroom, at a 9.30am hearing yesterday.
Brierley, 82, arrived at the court looking frail and ruddy-faced about 20 minutes before the brief hearing got under way. He was represented by barrister Penny Musgrave.
Using a walking cane for support, accompanied by another man, he sat in the public gallery of the courtroom while the case was heard.
It was the first matter called in courtroom 4.4 at the Downing Centre local court.
There was no mention of the New Zealander’s knighthood when his case was called, he was simply summoned as “Brierley, Ronald Arthur”.
Musgrave told the court there would be a not guilty plea, although no formal plea has yet been entered on the court record.
The initial hearing took just a few minutes during which time Brierley’s bail conditions were renewed and he was excused from personally appearing at the next court hearing, scheduled for April 2.
Court documents show New Zealand-born Brierley is facing six charges relating to possession of child abuse material, including photographs, videos and written documents in the form of stories that featured children being raped.
The detail of the charges alleged the photographs and video included those in which girls aged between 2 and 15 years of age were portrayed in sexually suggestive poses.
Those charges followed Brierley being stopped by the Australian Border Force on December 18 as he prepared to board a flight to Fiji.
Instead of flying to Fiji, the New Zealand businessman was taken to the nearby Mascot police station.
Detectives are reported by Australian media to have taken his laptop and electronic devices on which were allegedly discovered more than 200,000 images and 512 videos.
Brierley remained in the courtroom for about 20 minutes after the case before Musgrave escorted him through a waiting media pack to an Audi A8, parked close to the entrance of the Downing Centre.
The same type of car whisked Brierley away from his home in Sydney’s exclusive Point Piper on Sunday into a stormy and wet Sydney afternoon.
He had no comment for the Herald when approached on Sunday, saying only: “Sorry, sorry, no.”
Brierley has been a towering figure in New Zealand and Australia’s business world for decades.
It was only last year that Brierley relinquished roles in companies he had helped steer for years.
Brierley Investments was New Zealand’s most influential company throughout most of the 1970s and 1980s with one in every 20 New Zealanders owning shares.
His estimated $220 million fortune was built through a keen eye for companies that were rich in assets yet poor in returns for investors.
He built a reputation as a corporate raider who would descend on such companies with dramatic restructuring plans that returned strong profits.
Brierley’s directors were a Who’s Who of New Zealand business legend, including Sir Selwyn Cushing, current Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy, Sir Roger Douglas and Dame Fran Wilde.