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Lawyers negotiating with DPP on Ben McCormack case

Suspended ACA reporter appears briefly in court today but a plea is yet to be entered.

Suspended A Current Affair reporter Ben McCormack was in Downing Centre Local Court following his arrest over child pornography charges.

His lawyer Sam Macedone told the court he was in discussions with the NSW DPP over a potential plea but it is unclear which aspects of case were being negotiated.

He asked for an extension to receive the completed brief telling magistrate Jennifer Atkinson he was “confident” a plea would be entered on September 26, then McCormack could then be committed to the District Court for sentence.

McCormack was initially charged with using a carriage service for child pornography material — but a second identical charge was laid by police against the senior journalist at a previous hearing.

He was suspended by Nine following his arrest and has been receiving treatment at a Sydney hospital.

The ACA reporter will continue to be out on bail, but today Magistrate Jennifer Atkinson varied his bail conditions so he only has to report to police once a week instead of twice.

Source: Nine News, News Corp, ABC