Lawyers for the disgraced retired businessman Ron Brierley say their client did not know an image he had of a naked prepubescent girl was illegal.
Disgraced retired businessman Ron Brierley. Photo: Getty Images
Brierley pleaded guilty to three charges of possessing child sex abuse images in April, and a hearing was held at the Downing Centre District Court in Sydney today.
One of New Zealand's most successful businessmen, Brierley has fallen from grace following his arrest at Sydney airport in December, 2019, when a large quantity of illegal images of girls, some younger than 11, were found on his laptop and USB drives.
A lawyer for Brierley, Tim Game, today argued that his client was a prolific hoarder who did not think there was anything serious about the photos he possessed.
Game said Brierley, 84, was suffering from dementia and severe coronary artery disease and any jail sentence could compromise his well-being.
The court heard that the images, which were stored on devices without password restrictions or encryption, were mostly of girls aged around 11 or 12, and only one image showed a naked girl.
Crown prosecutors said the offending was serious and was not excused by Brierley's condition.
The case has been adjourned for sentencing on 14 October.
The charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Brierley's arrest in 2019 followed an anonymous tip-off from a member of the public, leading to the discovery of the images.
His legal team today said he had collected them for longer than he could remember.
Brierley was a clinical corporate raider and one of the best known New Zealanders of the 1980s and 1990s.
He was knighted in 1988 but gave this up in May after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern started moves to strip him of the knighthood following his guilty plea.
Brierley became both feared and revered in business circles for his shrewd ability to spot companies with untapped value, which he would then take over and turn around for vast profits.
The "corporate raider" - as he's usually referred to - founded Brierley Investments, which was one of New Zealand's largest most successful and glamorous companies of the 1980s.
The NBR's 2019 Rich List estimated Brierley's net worth as about $220 million.
Brierley's arrest shocked many of his friends and supporters while confirming the suspicions of others.
In her unauthorised 1990 biography Brierley, the Man Behind the Corporate Legend, Yvonne van Dongen wrote that he frequently travelled to Asia - mostly to Thailand - where he enjoyed encounters with young women - often teenage prostitutes.