A 62-year-old Sydney property manager, Colin Milne, has been denied bail after allegedly being part of a 'satanic' child sexual abuse material ring. Magistrate Alison Viney described the material found by police as the worst she had seen in nearly 20 years on the bench.
Milne is the sixth person charged in an investigation into a Sydney-based paedophile network that allegedly used an international website to possess, facilitate, and distribute ritualistic or satanic-themed child abuse material. Police seized electronic devices during a search of his Woollahra home on Tuesday.
Commonwealth Prosecutor Ania Dutka told the court the charges relate to at least 50 images and 10 videos, including abuse of infants and babies. She said the material was 'extremely graphic, violent and depraved', and that investigators also found a large volume of material involving animal abuse.
Magistrate Viney refused bail, citing concerns Milne might contact other network members to help them avoid detection. Milne's lawyer, Wilson Tighe, argued his client would be vulnerable in custody as a gay man who is HIV positive. Milne told the court he feared for his safety, claiming he had been told he would be bashed in prison.
Milne faces charges including using a carriage service to transmit and access child abuse material, disseminating bestiality and animal crush material, and participating in a criminal group. Five other men have been charged in the investigation, and police have identified 145 alleged offenders internationally.
