Sydney silk Mark Philip Dennis, 60, has been found dead at his Leichhardt unit in Sydney’s inner west on Monday evening, NSW Police confirmed. A report will be prepared for the coroner.
His death comes three weeks after he was arrested at Sydney Airport upon returning from Cambodia, where he operated a youth charity. He was charged with possessing child abuse material and two counts of using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material.
During his bail hearing, Commonwealth prosecutor Jon Kisch told the court that police had located an image of a young boy and alleged Dennis had participated in disturbing online conversations. Dennis was granted bail on 21 January and had not entered any pleas before his death.
Dennis was admitted to the bar in 2001, appointed senior counsel in 2018, and received the Terry Keaney Memorial Award in 2015 for his contribution to criminal law. The Cambodian Children’s Fund announced it had ceased its funding partnership with Dennis’s charity Reasonable Cause following the allegations.
