Queensland law lecturer 'posed as Justin Bieber to groom kids'
A Queensland University of Technology law lecturer has pretended to be pop star Justin Bieber to procure underage children from overseas, the Brisbane Magistrates Court has heard.
Gordon Douglas Chalmers has been charged with using a carriage service to groom and procure children under 16, possessing child exploitation material and using a carriage service to access child porn.
German and US authorities tipped off Queensland police who raided the 41-year-old's Kenmore home on Friday.
News break – November 05
Police prosecutor Sergeant Henri Rantala told the court that Chalmers used Facebook and Skype to communicate with children.
"The defendant has adopted the guise of celebrity Justin Bieber and during the process of that, has contacted the children over the internet - children performing sexual acts for the defendant's gratification," Sergeant Rantala said.
The court also heard Chalmer's had a Skype account which contained about 6000 contacts, "the majority" children, and 123,000 conversations.
"His activity's on the internet were detected by German Federal Police and Homeland Security in the United States," Sgt Rantala said.
The warrant issued to police on Friday required Chalmers to provide access to his social media and messaging accounts and cloud servers, but Sgt Rantala said the lecturer had "refused".
Police opposed bail, saying Chalmers would interfere with evidence and witnesses and, because he had a "rapacious appetite" for contacting children, he would commit further offences.
Chalmers' barrister Gerry Elmore said his client was not an unacceptable risk and he would abide by a strict set of conditions, including abstaining from using the internet.
"The submission my client is likely to have some degree of interference with witnesses ... they are overseas - the children that is," Mr Elmore said.
He told the court that Chalmers did not provide access to his accounts because, as a law lecturer, he had privileged material he had obtained from barristers in the course of his profession, on his hard drive.
Magistrate Hall denied bail over a concern Chalmers may destroy evidence.
"Given the nature of the offences, the nature of the evidence available, and his response to the lawful direction ... he is an unacceptable risk of offending," Ms Hall said.
"There's also an unacceptable risk the defendant will destroy evidence."
Chalmers appeared to have two female supporters in court.
