A top barrister and youth charity founder charged with child abuse material offences after stepping off a plane from Cambodia has been found dead.
Mark Philip Dennis had been released on bail in January 2026 after the Australian Border Force stopped him at Sydney Airport.
He was arrested and charged after Australian Federal Police officers allegedly found an image of a boy and explicit sexualised chats with and about minors on his phone.
Dennis was the co-founder and chair of charity Reasonable Cause, which focuses on helping disadvantaged Cambodian youths advance their education.
Phnom Penh-based non-profit Cambodian Children’s Fund announced it had ceased a funding partnership with Reasonable Cause in light of the allegations.
Dennis had visited a school in the Cambodian capital for an hour in January 2022 to support a digital education project, the fund said.
The initiative was extended in 2024 for three years before being terminated upon the barrister’s arrest.
Dennis had been facing charges of possessing or controlling child abuse material obtained using a carriage service, transmitting such material and a related import offence.
He had not entered any pleas and was due to face court again on March 18.
It is expected the criminal charges will be withdrawn on that date.
Dennis was admitted as a lawyer in 1991 and was principal solicitor of the Western NSW Aboriginal Legal Service.
