SYDNEY, Australia – A Sydney court on Wednesday ordered a celebrity photographer to give a DNA sample to police investigating the apparent bugging of Oscar winner Nicole Kidman's (search) home.
The bug was found Jan. 23 outside Kidman's home in Sydney's most exclusive harborside neighborhood during a search by security staff ahead of the star's return to Sydney (search).
Waverley Local Court magistrate Lee Gilmour ordered photographer Jamie Fawcett (search) to give police a sample of his DNA after police said they want to compare it to two sets of DNA found on the listening device.
Fawcett, who has not been charged with any offense, had earlier refused to give police a DNA sample.
Detective Senior Constable Malcolm Nimmo told the court that the bug did not record any conversations before it was discovered in the grass across the street.
Earlier this year, Kidman was granted a restraining order against Fawcett and another Sydney photographer, Ben McDonald, after claiming the pair were hounding her so much she was afraid to leave her home. The order was later lifted.
Fawcett's lawyer Paul Russer labeled the DNA testing order "utterly unreasonable," saying that because the bug did not record any conversations, there was no evidence an offense was committed.
Outside the court, Russer said Fawcett would appeal the ruling.
Kidman won the 2003 Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of tormented writer Virginia Woolf in "The Hours."
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