Senior NSW media adviser charged over child abuse material

A senior media adviser with NSW Corrective Services has been charged with possession of child abuse material and prohibited drugs.

NSW Police charged Matthew John Bachl, 38, on Friday after officers with Sydney City Police Area Command under Strike Force Salta executed a search warrant at a Chatswood unit, seizing electronic devices and the drug gamma butyrolactone (GBL).

Bachl was arrested and taken to Chatswood Police Station, where he was charged with two counts of possession of child abuse material and one count of possession of a prohibited drug.

He appeared in Hornsby Local Court, where he was granted conditional bail.

Bachl has been suspended from his role as senior media and communications adviser with NSW Corrective Services. He was also a former producer with Nine (the owner of this masthead).

A Department of Communities and Justice spokeswoman said Bachl has been placed on special leave.

“As this matter is before the court, it would be inappropriate to comment further,” the spokeswoman said.

Bachl is due back in Hornsby Local Court on April 9.

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