Man faces child exploitation, drug charges after Geraldton raid

A man has been charged with child exploitation and drug offences, following a raid on his Geraldton house this morning. Paul Bedson, 61, was charged with importing a prohibited tier two good, possession of child exploitation material, possession of cannabis and possession of drug paraphernalia. It’s understood the charges were laid after Australian Border Force officials executed a search warrant on his house. Mr Bedson appeared before Geraldton Magistrate’s Court this afternoon. He was not required to enter pleas on the four charges, but acknowledged he understood them. The importation charge falls under a new Commonwealth offence introduced in September 2019. If convicted, he will face a potential 10-year jail sentence. Commonwealth prosecutor Kathrine Brunner said both police and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions did not oppose bail, provided Mr Bedson agreed to strict conditions. He was bailed on a $5000 personal undertaking, ordered to comply with all requests to access electronic devices, report twice weekly to Geraldton Police Station and have no unsupervised contact with any children under 16. He will reappear in court on November 19.