Cult leader ‘Little Pebble’ argues legal loophole in remand hearing
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A lawyer for the self-appointed leader of one of Australia’s most infamous cults has argued it would be safer for his client to be in the community because of a prison loophole in his supervision order.
William Kamm, 73, was granted bail in the NSW Supreme Court after breaching an extended supervision order for the second time since he was released from his 10-year prison term in 2014 for aggravated indecent assault and sexual intercourse with a person under 16.
He was charged with four counts of failing to comply with an extended supervision order by allegedly using a WordPress church blog to post a prayer and deleting his search history.
Mr Kamm has not yet entered an official plea.
Under the orders, Mr Kamm is prohibited from hiding his browsing history or using communication websites, such as social media.
In arguing against keeping Mr Kamm remanded until the matter can be heard, which was estimated to be as late as mid-2024, his lawyer submitted the extended supervision order “ceases to have effects” while Mr Kamm is in a custodial environment.
This would mean that while it may be difficult for Mr Kamm to access the internet himself, he could direct a third party to do so for him.
“Paradoxically, the community would be put at a greater risk if the applicant was placed in custody, accepting the prosecution’s case at its highest,” Mr Kamm’s lawyer argued.
“It is something which is of significance also because of the onerous nature of the extended supervision order.”
The defence suggested Mr Kamm could be bailed to his Sydney apartment with a condition not to use devices that can connect to the internet. They added he could be given a phone that is “typically for children” as it will “preclude him from accessing the internet”.
Bail was granted with this condition and with a further condition to comply with the existing supervision order.
Mr Kamm, better known as ‘Little Pebble’, formed the doomsday cult in the NSW’s South Coast town of Cambewarra in the 1990s and often lured children to the compound to sexually abuse them.
He claimed to his devotees that the Virgin Mary would appear to him on the 13th day of each month and he would pass on her message.
At his height, Mr Kamm told his followers he planned to create a royal harem with 12 queens and 72 princesses who would bear his children and repopulate the earth after the second coming of Christ.
He served two jail sentences of just over 15 years for the sexual assault of two 15-year-old girls between 1993 and 1995.
Mr Kamm was arrested in early May and has been held in remand until his bail hearing in the Supreme Court on Thursday (22 June).
Content retrieved from: https://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/biglaw/37575-cult-leader-little-pebble-argues-legal-loophole-in-remand-hearing.
