Victorian fires update -Man charged with arson - for the Churchill fire which killed 21 people last weekend
UPDATE 4:00pm: A 39-YEAR-OLD man has been charged with lighting a fatal bushfire and possessing child pornography.
The suspect, who cannot be named, was charged at Morwell Magistrates’ Court with one count of arson causing death and one count of intentionally lighting a bushfire.
The arson charge carries a maximum penalty of 25 years, with the bushfire charge carrying a maximum penalty of 15 years.
Both charges relate to incidents which occurred last Saturday, February 7.
He has also been charged with possessing images of child pornography.
The suspect was arrested in Churchill yesterday at 4pm as part of Operation Winston, the local arm of the police’s Phoenix taskforce, set up to investigates Victoria’s bushfires.