Photographer ordered to provide DNA sample for Kidman case

SYDNEY - A celebrity photographer has been ordered to give police a DNA sample after the January discovery of an electronic "bug" near the Sydney home of Oscar winning Hollywood actor Nicole Kidman.

The bug was found on January 23 when security officers searched the Darling Point house in preparation for Kidman's return to film the movie, Eucalyptus, which has since been postponed indefinitely.

Detective Senior Constable Malcolm Nimmo today told Waverley Local Court that the listening device did not record any conversations before it was discovered in the grass across the street.

But police want Jamie Fawcett, 43, who has not been charged, to provide a DNA sample to compare with two sets of DNA evidence found on the device, he said.

"We don't have any other suspects at this stage," he said.

The court order for DNA evidence is separate to a restraining order Kidman slapped on Mr Fawcett and fellow Sydney-based photographer, Ben McDonald, 32, earlier this year.

The actor had claimed the pair went too far in pursuing her for pictures and made her feel she could not leave her Sydney home without fearing for her safety.

The restraining order was later lifted and Ms Kidman settled the matter out of court with the photographers.

Today, the court heard security footage taken outside Ms Kidman's home showed Mr Fawcett outside the property, but the site where the device was planted was not within the camera's vision.

Mr Fawcett's barrister Paul Russer, SC, opposed DNA testing because the bug did not record any conversation and thus he believed there was no evidence of an offence.

"We say it's utterly unreasonable, if this was not found near the home of a particular person (Ms Kidman) this would not be an issue," he told the court.

Magistrate Lee Gilmour said she regarded the allegations as serious regardless of whether the bug was found in front a celebrity's home or not.

Mr Russer argued tow-truck drivers regularly listened to police scanners for information on the latest accidents but were never prosecuted for their actions.

NSW Parliament has ruled the use of a listening device did not automatically lead to prosecution and this offence was "at the trivial end of the scale", Mr Russer said.

Ms Gilmour said while not prejudicing the case, Mr Fawcett should provide a DNA sample to investigating officers within seven days.

Outside the court, Mr Russer said his client would appeal the ruling.

In 1999, a freelance journalist was convicted in the United States of illegally taping an intercepted telephone call from Kidman to her then husband, actor Tom Cruise, and selling the tape to a tabloid newspaper.

- AAP