SERIAL conman Brenton Robert Jarrett’s day of reckoning came in court yesterday when he was jailed for fraud matters and failing to comply with conditions imposed on him as a registered sex offender.
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The Howlong man’s extensive criminal history was tendered to magistrate Tony Murray in Albury Local Court.
It showed cons dating back many years and included a jail term imposed in the County Court at Bendigo in 2001 for a large fraud matter.
Solicitor Andrea MacDonald made an application for Jarrett to be dealt with under the NSW Mental Health Criminal Proceedings Act for his latest offences.
Ms MacDonald said Jarrett had a long-standing mental health condition and suffered from bipolar disorder.
But police prosecutor Sgt Andrew Pike said the latest offences were too serious for that to happen and referred to Jarrett’s extensive list of previous convictions.
Mr Murray rejected the application and Ms MacDonald conceded: “He (Jarrett) is not assisted by his history.”
Jarrett, who has previously claimed to be Johnny Depp’s brother, US actor Skeet Ulrich and the grandson of legendary Hollywood film director Alfred Hitchcock, appeared for sentencing over deception charges involving iPhones and failing to comply with reporting conditions.
He attended the Albury police station on May 10 to advise he had a new mobile phone number and email address at DM Productions.
Jarrett said it was his new venture, but indicated it was not a registered company.
Four days later a representative from the modelling industry contacted Albury detectives with concerns about a man named Robbie Caine, from DM Productions.
Initially its website displayed work from photographers in the US, but was subsequently shut down.
Detectives were told “Caine” had contacted a number of models’ Facebook pages and claimed he was a part-owner of the Nine Network.
He tried to organise meetings with the models on the premise of offering weather presenter positions.
The industry representative believed “Caine” was really Brenton Jarrett and told him so in a conversation.
“Caine” then claimed Jarrett was his twin brother, who had taken his life as a result of media attention.
Jarrett was put on the NSW Child Protection Register after being charged in Victoria with offences relating to a teenage girl.
He met a girl, 14, on a Sydney-bound train on January 20, 2012, said he owned a modelling agency and told her she had the looks for a model.
Jarrett and the girl exchanged text messages from January 25 to February.
He claimed to be Josh Kells from Vexus Modelling and police said the information exchanged amounted to grooming a child under 16 years old.
Jarrett was on a County Court bond imposed in Victoria when the latest offences happened.
Mr Murray said Jarrett was put on the sex register for eight years with the period expiring in 2021.
Jarrett received a 14-month jail term, with a minimum of eight months, for failing to comply with the reporting and 12 months, with a minimum of six months, for the fraud charges.