EXCLUSIVE Sydney man is found guilty of having a child sex doll in legal test case
EXCLUSIVE
A man has been found guilty of possessing a child-like sex doll after the rubber mannequin was presented to a jury wearing only a Frozen hair clip attached to a wig.
Michael Brereton had denied the doll, which was found in a concealed room at a western Sydney warehouse, looked like a child or that he used it for sex.
A jury of six men and six women sitting at Penrith District Court took one hour and 35 minutes on Friday to find 56-year-old Brereton guilty in what is considered a test case.
The Commonwealth offence of possessing a child-like sex doll was only introduced in 2019 and carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
Brereton had admitted keeping the the doll in a storage facility at Kings Park near Blacktown but disputed it resembled a person aged under 18.
The doll was 142cm to 143cm tall (4’8″), of ‘relatively slim’ build, with narrow hips and other features consistent with the appearance of a child, the jury heard.
Crown prosecutor David Jordan said the doll also had ‘visible breasts’ and a vaginal cavity and vulva, which suggested it was designed to be used for sex.
When the doll was found by police it was wearing a sleeveless slip or shift dress, joggers and a hair clip featuring the character Anna from the Disney animated film Frozen.
‘It’s the sort of hair clip that a child would wear, I’m going to suggest to you, opposed to someone 18 or older,’ Mr Jordan had told the jury.
To prove the offence, the Crown not only had to establish Brereton was in possession of the doll – which he admits – but two other elements of the indictment.
One of those elements was that the doll ‘resembles a person who is, or appears to be, under the 18 years of age’ – which Brereton vehemently rejected.
The other was that ‘a reasonable person would consider it likely that the doll is intended to be used by a person to simulate sexual intercourse’.
Brereton’s barrister Zaid Khan did not dispute a reasonable person would make that assumption but said his client did not concede using the doll for such purposes.
‘It is not an element for you to consider if that was in fact what Mr Brereton used the doll for,’ Mr Khan said.
Mr Khan said there was no evidence Brereton used the doll for sex, asking the jury ‘not to prejudge’ and to ‘keep an open mind’.
‘You are not tasked with judging Mr Brereton’s morals,’ he said. ‘It’s not what we’re here for.
‘This type of doll – sex dolls – are not only legal but they represent a legitimate part of the adult entertainment industry.
‘It’s only child-like sex dolls that are illegal.’
Mr Jordan said swabs had been taken of the doll’s genitalia and forensic analysis had not detected any bodily fluids or DNA from Brereton.
The doll was naked and wearing a waist-length wig on Wednesday when it was presented to the jury.
A policewoman used scissors to cut open a paper evidence bag then stood the doll up against the court’s back wall so it could be examined.
Senior Constable Hayley Birch used latex gloves to handle the doll and pulled hair away from its face so its features could be seen properly by the jury.
Brereton, who has a pair of red lips tattooed on the left side of his neck, sat in the dock as Senior Constable Birch then produced the dress and shoes the doll had previously worn.
Plain clothes Senior Constable Rafael Mateo from the State Crime Command’s Raptor Squad was among police who executed a search warrant at Brereton’s warehouse on June 7, 2023.
The court has heard the search was not related to any investigation into anything related to child exploitation material.
Senior Constable Mateo said he walked through the warehouse after other officers had been through the facility and found the doll.
It had been located in a ‘void’ police had not initially been able to access but which could be entered by pushing wheel-mounted shelving aside.
The doll was standing in a knee-length Supré dress as well as white, maroon and beige joggers which appeared new due to the lack of wear on the soles.
Photographs of the doll in the warehouse were given to the jury, as were other images including one of the doll standing next to a police height chart.
Mr Jordan took just 20 minutes to outline his case to the jury, having earlier warned them they would be confronted with graphic material.
He described the doll’s location as having been ‘concealed’ in an area off the main warehouse.
Mr Jordan asked jurors to take particular note of the Frozen hair clip and said the doll’s height and build as well as other physical characteristics suggested it was meant to represent a child.
Senior Constable Birch was unaware of any legislation or guidelines regarding height, weight or other features used to define what constituted a child sex doll.
Judge Craig Everson will conduct a sentence hearing on March 7.
