Michael Brian Fox in custody for bail breach after accessing internet

Michael Brian Fox is now behind bars after his arrest by police in Armidale.

The 38-year-old made a bid for release in Armidale Local Court, after a detention application was submitted by investigators to the court.

Police made a successful bid to have Fox remanded in custody on allegations he breached his bail by accessing material on the internet.

According to court documents, magistrate Mark Richardson found the breach of bail established that Fox had accessed sites online, but the accused said were not social networking sites.

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Mr Richardson refused Fox's bail bid, ordering him into custody until his case returns to court later this month.

Fox is yet to enter pleas to nine charges. He's accused of four counts of a person possessing bestiality material; four counts of possessing child abuse material; using a carriage service to access child abuse material.

Detectives allege Fox possessed child abuse material on his personal computer, as well as on a Toshiba external hard drive.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) will consider which charges to push ahead with when the matter returns to court.

Fox had been on strict bail since his January arrest after sex squad detectives raided his Armidale home.

Strike force detectives, backed by New England police officers, raided Fox's Armidale home about 8am on January 4, this year, armed with a search warrant.

Extensive investigations led officers to home in on Fox, after detectives from the State Crime Command's Sex Crimes Squad's Child Exploitation Internet Unit began looking into his online activity in 2022.

Sex Crimes Squad detectives said at the time of Fox's arrest that they had been investigating him for allegedly using a peer-to-peer file sharing program.

He is accused of sharing a number of files deemed to be child abuse material.

Police said a number of items were seized during the property search in January, including a computer and other electronic devices.

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