A US judge has sent a prominent Australian military expert accused of child pornography offences back to jail after she ruled he breached strict bail conditions.
Dr Adam Cobb, who had a distinguished career advising the Australian government, Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove in East Timor and US Special Operations Command in Florida, had been ordered not to contact his alleged young female victims.
Cobb, 46, was also prohibited from possessing communication devices while on bail ahead of his trial.
The US District Court in Rhode Island heard on Friday Cobb had contact with an alleged victim and was in possession of four mobile phones.
Judge Patricia Sullivan granted Cobb $US1 million bail in June after he spent almost two months in custody following his arrest. But after being alerted to a potential breach by probation officers and holding Friday's hearing, she sent the Australian back to jail.
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"I found there is clear and convincing evidence that defendant violated the conditions of his release and that defendant is unlikely to abide by any condition or combination of conditions of release," Judge Sullivan ruled.
Cobb is accused of persuading a 17-year-old British girl to fly to the US without her parents' knowledge and videoing sex he had with her.
Prosecutors allege Cobb also persuaded a 16-year-old US girl to send him pornographic photos of herself.
He has been charged with one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography.
Cobb, who allegedly had the online moniker daddyMike69, was arrested in Rhode Island on April 2 while working as a professor and director at the esteemed US Naval War College.
