Notorious paedophile Bradley Pen Dragon is once again to be released from prison after the Perth Magistrates Court was told the images he is alleged to have possessed, in breach of his supervision order, were "innocuous" and were handed over to him by his community corrections officer.
Dragon was taken back into custody only two days after his release last month over allegations he was found in possession of images of children, which would have been a breach of one of the 62 strict conditions imposed on him by the Supreme Court.
He appeared in the Perth Magistrates Court via video link from Hakea Prison and pleaded not guilty to one charge of breaching the supervision order.
He was represented by Thomas McCulloch from legal aid who also applied for Dragon's release on bail, telling the court the images his client is alleged to have illegally possessed were "innocuous".
Images were artwork, lawyer claims
Mr McCulloch said they were in two categories, the first of which was artwork Dragon had done in prison, which had been given to him by the prison authorities when he was released from jail.
The court heard Dragon was concerned about the material and so the next day he handed it over to his community corrections officer to check if he should have it.
Mr McCulloch said the second category of images were "sheets of newspaper" from 2020 found in a subsequent search of his belongings, which were also handed back to him when he was released.
He said if Dragon was eventually convicted of the breach, it was likely he would not receive a jail term and instead be given a fine.
He also submitted that if the 62-year-old was kept in custody, he would lose his accommodation, which would be a breach of the conditions of his release.
It was also noted that the authorities had not sought to take the alleged breach to the Supreme Court so it could reconsider its decision to release Dragon.
Artwork depicted bar girl sitting on a table
The police prosecutor opposed the bail application on the grounds Dragon should have disclosed the material to the authorities earlier than he did.
Magistrate Cillian Stockdale was provided with the material to inspect and in his decision, he said, while he was not entirely sure what it depicted, it appeared to be a bar girl, not a child, sitting at a table with their arms folded.
Mr Stockdale said the handing over of the artwork by Dragon indicated he was attempting to comply with the terms of his release.
Mr Stockdale said it also appeared Dragon was unaware of the existence of the newspaper in his personal belongings.
Dragon was granted bail on a personal undertaking and that he complies with the dozens of conditions imposed by the Supreme Court, including that he takes anti-libidinal medication, that he be subject to a curfew and that his movements be electronically monitored.
Dragon has spent more than half his life behind bars for child sex offences, including 13 years in a Thai jail for sexually abusing two young girls.
His release from custody in Western Australia was approved by the Supreme Court after he was declared a High Risk Serious Offender who should be subject to a 10-year supervision order.
