Sir Ron Brierley video from outside courthouse. Video / David Fisher
Thousands of child abuse images were found at Sir Ron Brierley's waterfront Sydney mansion, police allege in court documents.
The documents also show the number of charges the business titan faces has grown to 17, a jump from the original six he faced after his laptop and other electronic devices were seized at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport in December 2019 and he was taken to the Mascot police station.
The case was back at Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court yesterday, and adjourned again to April 1.
The delay followed an earlier request to allow police more time to examine more than 600,000 images, video and text files seized from Brierley.
A search of the court file by the NZ Herald has revealed some of the detail behind the charges, including the number of child sex abuse images police have aligned with particular locations.
The 17 charges are made up of three charges relating to possession of child abuse material alleged to have been recovered at Sydney Kingsford-Smith airport.
The court file also lists six charges relating to material found at Mascot, Sydney. Mascot police station was where Brierley was taken after being stopped by the Australian Border Force as he waited to board a flight to Fiji.
The charging document also details eight charges relating to child abuse images alleged to have been found at Pt Piper where Brierley lives in a mansion called Wunulla. It was the focus of the search warrant on the day Brierley was arrested.
Sir Ron Brierley's Sydney mansion (centre, with pool) as pictured in December 2019, the month a police search warrant was executed. Photo / Liam Mendes
Those eight charges carry the number of images police allege were found to 27,401.
The age of the children captured in the images ranged from 2 years through to 15 years, according to the charging documents.
In court yesterday, the prosecution was granted a further delay because the case officer from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) was taking long-service leave.
Chief magistrate Judge Graeme Henson scheduled the case to return to court on April 1, saying: "The court is being held hostage over the internal considerations of the DPP. Justice delayed is justice denied."
The delay was described as "disappointing" by Brierley's lawyer, Lisa-Claire Hutchinson, who said it was "some concern to the accused" the case had not progressed further and now was "without a case officer".
Brierley was a giant of Australasian business for decades. He rose to prominence in New Zealand during the 1960s with a corporate raider approach that reshaped the modern business landscape.
Brierley's ambition quickly grew beyond New Zealand and he split his time between the country of his birth and Australia. He was knighted in 1988 while chairman of the Bank of New Zealand, acknowledging his business achievements and his philanthropic involvement in the community.
Cricket, particularly, had been a long-time passion of Brierley and a sport into which he had poured money and support.
His arrest in December 2019 came after an anonymous tip to police and happened as he prepared to board a flight to Fiji from Sydney.
Sir Ron Brierley (second from right) at a Windsor Castle cricketing event in 2015. Photo / Supplied
Brierley has been on bail since his arrest, with conditions allowing him to stroll nearby Double Bay and drive around Sydney's eastern suburbs. He was prohibited from international travel and required to surrender his passport.
No formal plea has yet been entered, but Brierley has indicated through his lawyer that he will plead not guilty.
Last year, Brierley sold a three-bedroom apartment with floor-to-ceiling windows and sweeping views of Sydney's harbour. The apartment, which he bought for $1.5m in 2014, sold for $4.215m.
