1News can reveal disgraced businessman Ron Brierley is appealing his sentence.
The 84-year-old was handed a 14-month prison sentence, with a seven-month non-parole period, after he pleaded guilty to being in possession of nearly 47,000 images showing child sex abuse.
Today, a spokesperson from the New South Wales courts confirmed a Notice of Intention to Appeal (NIA) has been filed with the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal.
Brierley’s lawyers have previously argued that his sentence should be served in the community instead of a corrections facility.
The Australian Border Force discovered the images when he was arrested at Sydney Airport in 2019, and found more after further searches of his home.
During an interview with the Australian Border Force about the images, he said “I reckon they are perfectly alright”.
He said he hadn’t viewed the images for sexual purposes, and that he’d found them “interesting”.
Court documents reveal many photos were of female children in various states of dress or undress, in sexualised poses.
Brierley also had one "category one" image, which depicted a naked child with her genitals exposed. The image had been sent to Brierley‘s business email address, when he worked at the Guinness Peat Group in 2007.
Brierley entered three guilty pleas to charges in April this year and was stripped of his knighthood in May.
During his sentencing on Thursday, the judge considered Brierley’s medical situation when assessing the case.
She said Brierley had been diagnosed with alcohol use disorder, and vascular dementia.
Medical experts have also concluded Brierley has a “pedophilloic disorder”.
SHARE ME