The NSW Attorney-General has called for an urgent review after the former head of Bega Cheese, Maurice van Ryn, was granted bail after admitting he sexually abused six underage boys.
Mr van Ryn was allowed to walk free from Bega Local Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to 12 child sex offences.
Attorney-General Brad Hazzard said he was "extremely concerned" by the decision.
"Having read some of the alleged facts, I am extremely concerned about the decision to grant bail," Mr Hazzard said.
"I have contacted the Director of Public Prosecutions and asked the DPP to urgently review the circumstances and consider lodging an appeal against the granting of bail."
Magistrate Doug Dick granted bail after the court heard Mr van Ryn had molested six boys aged between eight and 16 at Tathra between 2006 and 2014.
Mr van Ryn was first arrested in September and charged with 23 child sex offences.
But on Tuesday, 12 of the charges were replaced with one count of the more serious charge of "persistent sexual abuse of a child".
The new charge carries a maximum 25 years' imprisonment.
After Mr van Ryn entered a guilty plea to all charges, the DPP made an application for detention and said there was "an unacceptable risk for this person to remain at liberty".
The DPP said Mr van Ryn was "not without the means to get away from jurisdiction" and that "now he's admitted his guilt to the court, the thought of likely incarceration will weigh heavily on him".
Mr Ryn was the chief executive of dairy company Bega Cheese, based on the NSW far south coast, for 14 years.
The 59-year-old has been allowed to remain free as long as he reports five days a week to Merimbula police station.
He has surrendered his passport and been banned from travelling within a five-kilometre radius of Tathra and is not allowed to contact any of his victims.
He expected to be sentenced in the Bega District Court in February next year.
with Bega District News
