Stephen Corbett: Man accused of possessing child abuse material granted access to mobile phone

EXCLUSIVE

A hospitality worker in a BDSM relationship was caught with child pornographic material after asking his ‘master’ to distribute a sex video via WhatsApp in an attempt to satisfy his ‘humiliation fetish’.

Stephen Corbett, 37, was arrested on February 1 last year after police raided his property in North Bondi, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, following a tip-off from one of his friends that he was in possession of material about child abuse.

He originally pleaded not guilty and a court date was set for early 2024, but when the hearing finally took place twelve months later he admitted guilt.

Now court documents obtained by Daily Mail Australia following Corbett’s guilty plea in March reveal the bizarre series of events that led to his arrest.

According to the police document, Corbett met his male friend – who would later turn him over to detectives – through a mutual friend in 2017.

But in 2021, the boundaries of the friendship began to be tested when the cafe worker’s friend began receiving strange WhatsApp calls from several people abroad claiming to be Corbett or one of his associates.

The calls were always “strange” and usually had “a sexual aspect,” according to the fact sheet.

However, the worst call would come two years later on January 23, 2023, when the friend received a WhatsApp call around 9 p.m. from a Filipino man named ‘James’, who appeared to be between 14 and 19 years old.

According to the documents, James revealed that he and Corbett had a master-slave relationship and that the 37-year-old had developed a new fetish involving humiliation.

James asked the friend for his PayPal information so he could send him $300 to receive several sexually compromising videos of Corbett, which the cafe worker had requested to fulfill his sexual fixation.

The friend said no, but James still bombarded him with messages and a video showing Corbett committing a sex act while viewing child abuse material on a laptop.

Nine days later, the friend reported the incident to police, who raided Corbett’s home the next day on February 2 and seized an Acer Predator laptop, Asus laptop and iPad.

Corbett was not home at the time, but saw police at his home via a wireless doorbell app and immediately contacted his father.

Following their conversation, the 37-year-old then contacted police and arranged to meet officers at Redfern police station where he was arrested and his phone seized.

He was then taken to Mascot Police Station where he gave a recorded interview without comment after seeking legal advice.

However, he told officers he had deleted social media “some time ago” – only to admit after switching off the recorder that he had used WhatsApp since deleting it in April 2021 – but claimed he could not remember why or when.

In March last year, it was revealed in court that Corbett spent two weeks in jail following his arrest before being released on bail on February 14 under strict conditions, including a ban on accessing the internet or possessing electronic devices.

Just seven days after his release he faced Waverley Local Court where he successfully applied to vary his bail conditions to allow him to have a mobile phone.

Dressed in a gray suit, glasses and colored striped tie, Corbett appeared nervous as he sat on the gallery with his legs crossed and his hands clasped tightly in his lap as he rotated his dangling foot in a circular motion.

Addressing the court, Corbett’s lawyer asked Magistrate Ross Hudson to review his client’s bail conditions to allow him to have a mobile phone designed without internet capabilities.

Magistrate Hudson seemed amused to reflect on the rarity of non-smartphones, joking that he was using a similar old-fashioned device.

‘What kind of species are those? [non-smart] phones called again?’ asked Magistrate Hudson.

Corbett’s attorney responded, “Burner calls your honor.”

After police prosecutor Chris Davis did not object to the request, Magistrate Hudson agreed to vary the condition to allow Corbett to have a phone as long as it could not be used to access the internet.

As he left the court, Corbett was supported by his father and mother, who had watched the hearing from a separate part of the gallery.

When asked by Daily Mail Australia if he would comment on the allegations, Corbett remained silent and lifted his backpack in front of his face.

Finally, he left the walkway without saying goodbye to his parents and went in a different direction.

Shortly after being confronted by Daily Mail Australia, Corbett’s social media accounts were deactivated.

Under his continued bail conditions, Corbett must live at his parents’ home in Kingsgrove and report regularly to authorities.

Corbett will be sentenced on June 19, 2024.

In NSW, producing, distributing or possessing child abuse material carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment.