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A newspaper man from regional NSW allegedly livestreamed explicit child abuse material from the Philippines and exchanged messages talking about abducting and raping children.
The case was labelled “alarming” by a magistrate who noted it was not the first time the 69-year-old man had been accused of child abuse.
Alan David Smith, from Tamworth, allegedly live-streamed child abuse material from the Philippines and sent messages about abducting and abusing children, police claim.Credit: LinkedIn
Strike Force Trawler, the NSW Police’s anti-online child abuse investigation, arrested Alan David Smith in Tamworth on Monday morning.
Smith lives alone across from a community pool and near multiple schools. He works at Australian Community Media in sales, provided news stories for a local FM radio station, and formerly worked in television for decades, according to online profiles.
“I’ve spent the first half of life learning, building, and, admittedly, making my share of mistakes. Some were colossal. But the second half? That’s about making amends, staying curious, and choosing purpose over pride,” Smith wrote five months ago.
But police allege Smith was living a double life, and purchased live child abuse material from the Philippines.
Smith was led from his home in handcuffs before officers seized electronics allegedly containing child abuse media files.
Alan David Smith, 69, was arrested by police at his home on Monday and charged with 10 child abuse material offences.
He was hit with 10 charges including soliciting, making available and possessing child abuse material.
Magistrate Miranda Moody on Tuesday said Smith had been convicted and imprisoned in 2015 for “similar” charges.
A Commonwealth prosecutor told the court: “The nature of the images and the videos are of a very, very explicit nature.”
“He is not only receiving the content, he is also livestreaming the content, making offshore payments to the Philippines to sellers who are known to provide this material,” the prosecutor alleged.
Smith, in the same blue and white polo shirt he was arrested in a day earlier, appeared on a videolink and shook his head as the prosecutor spoke.
The prosecutor told the court that police had messages in which Smith said he wants to abuse children.
“The messages … refer to him wanting to kidnap, rape and sexually abuse young children,” the prosecutor alleged.
“There is a very clear risk to young children, coupled with the fact that he also resides near a community pool that is attended by children, and he lives within a kilometre of two schools.”
Smith has previously been convicted for similar offences, a decade ago, a court heard on Tuesday.
Smith’s lawyer asked the magistrate to release him to bail so he could continue working at the local newspaper. They offered for him to live at the same home he had been in for a decade, re-engage with a psychologist, and said he did not have a passport to flee the jurisdiction.
But Moody said: “Probably the most alarming thing is that he has a previous conviction for like offending 10 years ago.
“In these types of matters, it’s not unusual for people to have no record whatsoever, but Mr Smith was imprisoned in 2015 for nine months,” the magistrate said.
The court heard he had been put on a child protection registry and had not been accused of any breaches, until now.
Moody said it was “totally inappropriate” to release Smith on bail. He is to remain in custody until January.
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