AN ARMIDALE man remains behind bars accused of keeping more than 200 child abuse images on a laptop as prosecutors consider the charges against him.
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Paul Anthony Robertson will front Armidale Local Court next month when it's expected the state prosecuting authority, the DPP, will confirm which allegations it will press ahead with.
The 54-year-old made no bid for release in court on Wednesday and magistrate Mark Richardson formally refused bail.
Robertson has not yet been required to enter pleas to the charge of using a carriage service to access child abuse material, which can carry up to 15 years' jail, if found guilty.
He also faces charges of possessing child abuse material; and possessing a prohibited drug.
Mr Richardson adjourned the matter to March, which will mark more than six months since Robertson was arrested at an Armidale home.
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Extensive investigations by specialist officers spanning months led police to move on Robertson about 7am on September 13, last year.
He was taken to Armidale Police Station and charged, and was refused bail at the time.
He has remained in custody since.
Police allege a raid of the Armidale house after Robertson's arrest revealed a laptop with more than 200 images of child abuse on it, as well as an amount of the drug cannabis.
Items were seized for forensic examination at the time by officers.
Robertson's alleged online activity caught the attention of investigators from the Australian Federal Police's Child Protection Triage Unit, after reports came in from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children.
The investigation was handed over in July, last year, to NSW Police detectives in the Child Exploitation Internet Unit (CEIU), which is a specialist branch of the force's Child Abuse and Sex Crime Squad.
Police said at the time that anyone with concerns about suspected child abuse or exploitation should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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