John Cargnello,the owner of the Step Into Life franchise,attended court for a committal hearing on Friday.Credit:Paul Jeffers
The court heard that the charges against Mr Cargnello emanated from"offending material"on a computer accessed by the Victoria Police's e-crime group.
Given the volume of material seized,police estimated it may take 12 months to analyse it all.
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Mr Cargnello's case was remanded to the court for a contested committal hearing in August and Mr Cargnello was granted bail.
Mr Cargnello is the sole director and shareholder of the Step Into Life franchise which he bought from the fitness chain's founder Larry Cohen in 2018.
At its peak,the outdoor fitness franchise operated 165 franchises in Australia and four in New Zealand but franchise numbers have since dropped significantly,with around 50 locations currently listed on Step Into Life's website.
Darren Farrell,the general manager of Step Into Life Australia,said he had assumed the activities which were previously the responsibility of Mr Cargnello.