Former NSW Crown prosecutor Paul Leask charged with new counts over online child-abuse material

Sydney — A former New South Wales Crown prosecutor, once celebrated for his role in high-profile prosecutions and later portrayed in the Underbelly crime series, has been hit with a new wave of charges tied to online child-abuse material. Paul Leask, 59, has been in custody since a January arrest and now faces an expanded indictment that prosecutors say centers on the online distribution and access of such material. Leask is retired and living in Bali, according to court filings.

Australian Federal Police arrested Leask during a raid at a Sydney hotel on January 30, 2025 after a tip from U.S. authorities. Police said they recovered more than 300 files depicting child abuse material on electronic devices and found a clip-seal bag containing a substance suspected to be methamphetamine, along with drug paraphernalia. Leask did not apply for bail when he first appeared in court on the initial charges.

Since his initial arrest, authorities have filed a much broader set of charges. Leask is now charged with 11 counts of using a carriage service to make available child abuse material, five counts of using a carriage service to access child abuse material, two counts of possessing child abuse data, and one count of possessing child abuse material. He also faces two counts of drug possession; one of those drug charges is expected to be withdrawn, according to court records. Prosecutors say the new charges reflect activity tied to uploading or sharing material online that investigators traced to Leask.

The AFP said investigators linked Leask to the online activity after reviewing a report from the U.S. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about a user uploading child abuse material online. The devices seized in the hotel room are to undergo further forensic examination.

Leask’s career in New South Wales prosecutions had included cases against some of the state’s most notorious criminals. He helped jail Anthony “Rooster” Perish, whose 2001 murder of drug dealer Terry Falconer was dramatised in Underbelly: Badness. Perish was sentenced to 24 years in prison in 2012 for Falconer’s murder, and Leask’s verification by peers during that era was widely cited in profiles of top lawyers. The Falconer case and Perish’s crimes were later depicted in the popular Nine Network series.

In later years, Leask’s work included prosecutions that drew public attention for their severity. He was involved in the 2012 conviction of Tarek Abdallah, who received a lengthy sentence for the underworld killing of Neil Todorovski, and in 2015 helped convict Quy Huy Hoang for sexually abusing five children between 2007 and 2014. Those accomplishments were noted in profiles of Sydney’s leading lawyers in the mid-2010s.

Leask left the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in May of last year, after being on leave since April 2023. He is due to appear next at the Downing Centre Local Court on a date in September 2025, according to court filings.

The case highlights an abrupt and troubling reversal for a figure once described by colleagues as “high energy and extremely thorough.” Authorities emphasize that Leask’s alleged conduct is unrelated to his prior public-service career and that the charges now pending reflect alleged offenses committed in the digital space. The court process will determine whether the new charges proceed to trial and what evidence the Crown will present.