by Sarah Crawford, The
Daily Telegraph
May 9, 2017 6:58pm
A CURRENT Affair reporter Ben McCormack remains in hospital a
month after he was charged with child pornography offences.
McCormack, 42, did
not appear at Downing Centre Local Court where he is now facing two counts of
transmitting child pornography.
His lawyer Sam
Macedone tendered a medical certificate on his client’s behalf saying, “My
client is not present today, he is still in hospital.”
Outside the court,
Mr Macedone said McCormack was “not in a good place” so was not well enough for
him to speak to about a plea.
As well as being
charged with two counts of using a carriage service to transmit child
pornography, police allege the senior reporter went online and had a sexually
explicit conversation with another man about the photos.
McCormack was
arrested by officers from the NSW Sex Crimes Child Exploitation Internet Unit
as he drove near Moore Park on April 6.
At the same time
detectives executed warrants at Nine’s Willoughby headquarters and at
McCormack’s Alexandria home seizing computers and a mobile phone.
After he was
arrested and charged Nine suspended McCormack.
On the night
following his arrest ACA fill-in presenter Leila McKinnon announced that one of
their senior reporters, “is facing serious charges involving child pornography
offences.”
“A Current Affair
has a long history of pursuing offenders in these types of cases and we intend
to cover this story without fear or favour.”
In a strange twist
it was McCormack who tracked down convicted child molester and TV star Robert
Hughes in Singapore while he was being investigated by the same police sex
crimes unit that arrested McCormack last month.
Following his arrest McCormack was also suspended from North Bondi Life Saving
Club where he trained nippers.
McCormack has not
entered a plea to the charges and remains on bail. The case has been adjourned
to July 4.
Mr Macedone asked
that the ail condition requiring that he report regularly to police remain
suspended while he is in hospital.
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