A Bellambi man accused of possessing hundreds of child abuse images on a flash drive has been denied a request to contact children under his bail conditions.
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John Lyons, 39, fronted Wollongong Local Court on Friday for a review of his "strict" bail conditions after he was charged with one count of possessing child abuse material last month.
Lyons was arrested three weeks ago, after police discovered a flash drive allegedly containing 1453 images of child abuse on top of a tallboy in a bedroom.
Police documents tendered to the court said Lyons told police "that's not mine" when the flash drive was found.
He allegedly admitted ownership of several other electronic devices seized by police.
Lyons was granted bail in June to reside at a Bellambi address.
He was also ordered to not associate with children under 18, drink, or take drugs.
In court on Friday, he sought to have to have the first condition removed, and asked that he could have supervised contact with children known to him.
However, Magistrate Michael Ong refused the application, and told Lyons the conditions will remain the same.
Officers raided Lyons' home after the Australian Federal Police received reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children last November in relation to child abuse material on Instagram and Facebook.
Police allegedly found Lyons was the owner of both accounts. When police questioned him about the social media accounts, Lyons reportedly responded: "I got kicked off them".
In a police interview, Lyons declined to comment on the social media accounts and the allegations, but again denied ownership of the flash drive.
Read more Illawarra court and crime stories here.
Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
