A Gowrie man has been granted bail after allegedly committing one of Australia's most serious federal crimes by encouraging child sexual activity overseas.
The offence was allegedly committed on January 30, the ACT Magistrates Court heard when the charge, which carries a 20-year jail sentence, was put to Ernest James Maclay on Friday.
Magistrate James Stewart also read aloud five further charges, which alleged Maclay had possessed or controlled child abuse material on Thursday. Maclay did not enter pleas.
Commonwealth prosecutor Ella Gordon opposed bail, noting the charge relating to overseas activity placed the onus on Maclay to prove there were grounds for his release.
While the location of the alleged overseas offence was not explicitly stated in court, Ms Gordon said police believed Maclay had travelled to the Philippines on three occasions.
She said there were concerns he might try to return to that country, adding that the man had also been in contact with "various facilitators" as part of his alleged offending.
The prosecutor argued Maclay might try to speak to these people again so they could interfere with evidence or the defendant's alleged victims, whose identities police were still working to determine.
She added while investigators had seized Maclay's electronic devices, some material was stored on "the Cloud" and the defendant might try to delete it if released.
Ms Gordon also indicated Skype held some potentially relevant evidence, and Australian authorities would have to go through a lengthy process to obtain it from overseas.
The prosecutor finished by raising concerns about where Maclay would live if he was granted bail, saying the man's wife and daughter had told police they did not want him coming back to reside with them.
Legal Aid duty lawyer Sam Brown told the court he had been instructed that the others would vacate the premises for Maclay if bail was granted.
Mr Brown sought Maclay's release from custody, saying the man had been compliant with investigating police and appeared to be "willing to go through the process".
The lawyer also said Maclay had instructed him that the alleged child abuse material was from "a number of years ago", which was consistent with his comments to police that he "did not recall" having it.
Mr Brown ultimately proposed a series of bail conditions, which included Maclay being banned from possessing electronic devices and accessing the internet.
The magistrate, Mr Stewart, decided to grant bail, imposing those conditions and noting Maclay had no prior convictions as he found the man was likely to attend court as required.
Mr Stewart also said Maclay was unlikely to commit offences while on bail.
He did not think Maclay was likely to endanger people or destroy evidence if released either, saying the man had already "made admissions and assisted police".
Upon learning he would be granted bail, Maclay breathed a sigh of relief and touched his heart.
Further conditions of his release include that he must report to City Police Station weekly, surrender his passport and stay away from international points of departure.
Mr Stewart also banned Maclay from being within 100 metres of any schools or being in the presence of a minor unless another adult was also present.
Maclay, who muttered "f---" when he saw this reporter taking his photo outside court, is due to make his next appearance on October 6.
