A convicted child sex offender is behind bars on new charges after he allegedly spent weeks grooming children in the showers at the Australian Institute of Sport aquatic centre.
Chifley man Benjamin Hugh Smith, who is completing a master's degree in ethics and legal studies, was refused bail in the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday.
Police documents, tendered in court, detail how officers were called to the swimming centre on March 15 after receiving a report about "a suspicious male".
The centre receptionist pointed out Smith, 37, as he walked out of the men's changing rooms, prompting police to approach him.
A "visibly nervous" Smith, said to be on the verge of tears, was allegedly reluctant to give police his name, address or date of birth.
Police allege he discreetly tried to bury his phone, which was subsequently seized, in a garden bed when officers asked to see his identification.
Asked why he had been in the changing room for nearly two hours, Smith replied that he had pooed his pants.
Officers who inspected his underwear found no evidence of this, and also noted that it did not appear Smith had used the pool that day because his clothes and towel were dry.
The matter was referred to officers from ACT Policing's child sex offender registry team, whose inquiries revealed Smith had purchased a 20-visit membership to the centre.
A staff member told police Smith had never been seen in the water despite having used 19 of those visits.
A week after police spoke to Smith at the pool, investigators interviewed the father of two boys, both aged under 10, who had attended swimming lessons there.
This man spoke of having seen Smith naked in the showers with his sons twice.
Both his boys had told him Smith, who they knew as "Tim", had been in the changing rooms at the same time as them for the previous three or four weeks.
He also described one of his sons being excited about winning a dollar coin from a game the youngster claimed to have played with "Tim".
Police also spoke to the elder of the two boys, who told officers "Tim" had taught him tricks in the showers.
On the same date as these interviews, Smith emailed police a letter.
In it, he claimed to have declined to provide police with the access codes for his phone because it contained "footage of his soon-to-be wife performing consensual sexual acts".
In early May, police obtained a court order requiring Smith to provide the codes.
When it was served on him he allegedly became belligerent and provided incorrect numbers, which disabled the device.
The 37-year-old then told police the phone could not be his, claiming a security guard at the swimming centre had swapped his for another one.
He was arrested and, after a month behind bars on remand, he faced court to apply for bail on Thursday.
Through defence lawyer Anastasia Qvist, he pleaded not guilty to five charges that included two counts of child grooming.
Ms Qvist told the court it was the first time Smith, who was sentenced to a suspended jail term for a child sex offence in NSW in 2017, had been in prison.
She said the experience, which had included COVID lockdowns and time in protective custody, had been a difficult one for the 37-year-old.
Ms Qvist added that Smith had been denied access to his glasses in jail, while the man had also endured difficulties accessing medication.
Prosecutor Tahlia Drumgold opposed bail, saying Smith had allegedly engaged in "classic grooming behaviour" while subject to child sex offender register reporting requirements.
Ms Drumgold added that Smith's reluctance to let police look at his phone indicated the device must contain incriminating material.
She also described the alleged swimming centre crimes as "brazen", arguing Smith would pose a danger to children if granted bail.
Magistrate Jane Campbell agreed, saying there was "too great a likelihood" that Smith would commit an offence involving a child if released from custody.
She accordingly refused bail, listing the case to return to court on July 14.
