R v Jeffrey Ian SERENO [2006] NSWDC 101

New South Wales District Court

CITATION: R v Jeffrey Ian SERENO [2006] NSWDC 101

HEARING DATE(S): 27/10/2006

JUDGMENT DATE: 27 October 2006

EX TEMPORE JUDGMENT DATE : 10/27/2006

JUDGMENT OF: Berman SC DCJ

DECISION: Bail refused

CATCHWORDS: Bail Application

LEGISLATION CITED: Crimes Act 1900

CASES CITED: R v MM [2004] NSWCCA 364

PARTIES: DPP Jeffrey Ian Sereno

FILE NUMBER(S): 06/11/0588

COUNSEL: Giles Tabuteau - Crown Robert Sutherland SC - Offender

SOLICITORS: DPP Mark Stenberg & Associates

JUDGMENT

1 HIS HONOUR: Last Friday there was an application before the court to vacate a trial date, that application being made by the Crown. The circumstances of that application were that although Mr Sereno's trial for having sexually assaulted a number of young girls was due to start the following Monday, only very recently had police come into possession of information which suggested that he, that is the accused, was in possession of child pornography.

2 I vacated the trial date, and the matter was eventually listed today, in order for two things to happen, firstly, to set a new trial date, and secondly, to deal with a bail application, which Mr Sutherland who appears for Mr Sereno indicated would be made. The bail application was made this morning. I heard evidence from the officer in charge of police, and received an affidavit from her as to the state of investigation into the child pornography images.

3 The evidence establishes that although it is at a very early stage of those investigations, there was found on a laptop computer belonging to the accused a large number of images of child pornography. Also found on the computer were indications that certain files had been deleted. The file names could be viewed but the contents of the files at this stage cannot be. One of the file names refers to the Christian names of the three complainants, together with their ages.