Sir Ron Brierley faces more charges over child abuse material

Ron Brierley.
Sir Ron Brierley. File photo
New Zealand business tycoon Sir Ron Brierley faces eight more charges, bringing the total number to 14 for allegedly possessing child abuse material.

The 83-year-old multi-millionaire corporate raider was initially facing six charges after his arrest at Sydney International Airport on December 17 last year.

Today, New South Wales court staff confirmed to The New Zealand Herald that Brierley faced the additional charges.

He is due to appear in Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court again in December.

Brierley's lawyer earlier indicated he will defend the charges but not guilty pleas are yet to be formally entered.

Brierley, who is a chairman or director of numerous companies in Australia and New Zealand, was arrested as he was about to board a plane to Fiji.

After being stopped by Australian Border Force officers, his hand luggage was seized.

Police allege they found more than 200,000 images and 500 videos on Brierley's laptop and electronic storage devices that depicted child abuse material.

Court documents said the material allegedly showed "young girls aged between approximately two years to 15 years in sexually suggestive poses."

The arrest followed a five-month police investigation, reportedly sparked by an anonymous phone call last August.

The businessman is currently on bail and his conditions stipulate he lives in his mansion at Point Piper in Sydney.

Brierley, knighted in 1988, was a giant of the New Zealand corporate scene through 1970s and 1980s leading a series of daring corporate raids and takeovers.