Family of former A Current Affair star make a chilling threat as he faces court on child abuse charges
Ben McCormack, once a gung-ho Nine Network newsman, was charged on Saturday with 65 counts of using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material in Queensland.
McCormack is accused of committing the alleged offences over several months last year at a home in Oxley, in Brisbane 's south.
The 51-year-old, who gained fame tracking down paedophile Hey Dad! actor Robert Hughes, had been living with his parents at a house in Oxley before his arrest.
An elderly couple believed to be McCormack's parents Carmel and Patrick did not wish to talk when approached in the driveway of that Oxley address on Tuesday afternoon.
'No comment,' the woman told the Daily Mail. 'And would you please leave the premises unless you've got a warrant.
'Leave the premises immediately otherwise I will call the police.'
When told that request would be immediately met, the woman said: 'I think that's a wise thing to do - you don't muck around with this family.'
McCormack is accused of transmitting audio files, which amounted to child abuse material, on 65 occasions from his home.
He has also been charged with four offences involving alleged breaches of his reporting obligations as an offender under the state's child protection laws.
The charges were briefly mentioned in Brisbane Arrest Court on Monday when Legal Aid duty lawyer Zane Playle made no application for bail.
McCormack was not required to appear in person and his case is due to return to Brisbane Magistrates Court on September 5.
As well as being the face of many of A Current Affair's consumer stories, McCormack played a key role in exposing Robert Hughes.
Hughes was found guilty in 2014 of 10 charges relating to sexual and indecent acts perpetrated on four young girls in the 1980s and 1990s.
In 2010, after allegations of Hughes' abuse first came to light, McCormack confronted the former sitcom star in Singapore.
He phoned victim Sarah Monahan the result of Hughes' 2014 trial after watching the guilty verdict in the courtroom.
McCormack joined Nine in the 1990s before quickly climbing up the ranks and becoming a senior reporter for A Current Affair.
He was well known for covering topics such as consumer affairs and social justice issues.
McCormack was previously described by Nine as a '25 year veteran of the network' before his employment came to an abrupt end in 2017.
He was initially suspended by the network before he resigned.
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