Albany man accused of child exploitation crimes granted bail despite police concerns that he could offend

An alleged Albany paedophile has been granted bail despite police concerns about the risks of him offending. Gary James Slade, 33, was arrested in November after police allegedly found him in possession of 26,000 images and videos of child exploitation material. Police allege his offending included photographing and video recording an underage female victim. He was released on bail in November and reappeared in court in March of this year, when he pleaded not guilty to one count of possessing child exploitation material. However, Mr Slade was arrested again on Monday last week and charged with more child porn offences after police uncovered more alleged illegal content on his electronic devices. He is now facing 19 charges of possessing child exploitation material. He appeared in Albany Magistrates Court via video link from Albany Regional Prison last Tuesday, when his lawyer made a bail application. In court last week, police prosecutor Sgt Alan Dean opposed the bail application because of the serious nature of the allegations. Sgt Dean said bail should not be granted because of the risk of Mr Slade “reoffending” and the likelihood of a conviction leading to a prison term. “Prosecution has a strong case ... if he’s convicted, a term of imprisonment is inevitable,” he said. Sgt Dean told the court “intelligence information” had highlighted concerns about Mr Slade allegedly “sending money to children in exchange for images”. Mr Slade’s criminal record showed he had three previous breaches of protective bail conditions in relation to domestic violence allegations. His defence lawyer acknowledged the strength of the prosecution case but said their concerns could be addressed with “stringent protective bail and reporting conditions”. Magistrate Dianne Scaddan said there were conditions that could be imposed to reduce the risk of offending and protect any alleged victim. Mr Slade was granted bail on a $20,000 personal undertaking and surety. He has been prohibited from leaving WA and forced to surrender his passport. He is not allowed to have contact with the alleged victim or unsupervised access to children under 16, and he has to report to Albany Police Station three days a week. Mr Slade is due back in Albany Magistrates Court on October 7.