Former BBL player appears in court on child abuse charges

Former Big Bash League player Aaron Summers had to appear in front of the Darwin Local Court after being charged for possessing child abuse material and grooming a minor, the Sydney Morning Herald reported to Monday (May 17).

The 24-year-old paceman played one match for the Hobart Hurricanes in December 2017 and recently became the first Australian player to appear in Pakistani domestic cricket. He played for Southern Punjab in the 2020-21 Pakistan One-Day Cup.

In a statement issued to the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald, Cricket Australia said: "A matter was brought to the attention of NT Cricket and was immediately actioned in accordance with our member protection policy. In line with the policy the matter was referred to the relevant authorities and is now being handled by police."

Summers was scheduled to feature in the winter’s NT Cricket 365 tournament, an event run by Cricket Australia featuring a host of current and former state and BBL players. NT Police too issued a statement, saying: "Detectives from the Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team (JACET) arrested a 25-year-old man in Fannie Bay on Friday afternoon for child abuse material. Police executed a section 3E Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) search warrant on the man and seized a mobile phone.

"Police will allege that the man’s mobile device contained a number of videos containing child abuse material. There was also evidence that the man had been in contact with up to 10 children to attempt to procure further illicit photographs. On 14 May 2021, Northern Territory and Australian Federal Police executed a further section 3E Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) search warrant on the man’s premises in the Darwin CBD. Police found a mobile device containing child abuse material.

"The man has been charged with the following Commonwealth offences:

- Two counts of possess or control child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth)

- One count of use carriage service to groom a person under 16 years, contrary to section 474.27 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth)

“He has been remanded in custody to appear in Darwin Local Court on Monday, 17 May 2021.”