Tonight, Cardinal George Pell starts his sentence behind bars. Australia’s highest ranking Catholic Church official has been sentenced to 6 years in prison, with a non-parole period of 3 years and 8 months. Pell was found guilty in December last year of five counts of sexually abusing two choirboys while he was Catholic archbishop of ...
Category: Child Sex Offences
The Crime of Possessing Child Pornography Outside Australia
Peter Hansen is a well-educated globetrotter with experience in a range of occupations and callings. Over the years, the 61-year old has been a priest with the Archdiocese of Melbourne, an Asian studies lecturer, a compensation lawyer, a social worker and a NSW Labor Party official. He has a bachelor of theology, a law degree ...
Prison for Police Officer who Groomed Vulnerable Teen
A Victorian Police officer who groomed a vulnerable teenager for sexual relations has spent his first night in prison, after a Victorian Judge sentenced him to 10 months behind bars. Officer Vikram Gopinath met the teen when she was just thirteen. Coming from a troubled home, she had a number of brushes with the law ...
Dutton’s Child Sex Offender Register Proposal Is Political Fodder
As the nation was still recovering from the holiday season, Australian home affairs minister Peter Dutton announced a proposal to establish a national public register of child sex offenders, which would make information about convicted criminals available online. Describing it as “the toughest crackdown on paedophiles in Australia’s history”, Dutton told reporters on 8 January that ...
Tough New Laws Against Child Sexual Abuse
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim A range of tough new laws to combat child sexual abuse in NSW came into effect on 1 December, which complete one of the most comprehensive overhauls of the state’s criminal laws in history. The recently enacted laws follow a number other child sex reforms which commenced in late ...
It’s the Devil! Pope Claims Church is Being “Persecuted” over Child Sexual Abuse
Pope Francis has responded to the tens of thousands of cases of child sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic clergy worldwide by claiming the Church is being victimised. The Pope recently wrapped up a month-long meeting, or ‘Synod’, for Bishops from around the world at the Vatican by claiming the Church is being “persecuted” ...
Sydney Police Officer Charged with Child Sexual Assault
A Sydney police officer has been arrested and charged with a range of child sex offences, including attempted sexual intercourse with a child under 10, two counts of sexual intercourse with a child aged between the ages of 10 and 14, aggravated indecent assault and grooming a child under the age of 14 for sex. ...
Pope Defrocks Priest who Sexually Abused Children
By Sonia Hickey and Ugur Nedim In an exceptionally rare but welcomed move, Pope Francis (pictured) has defrocked a Chilean priest convicted of sexually assaulting children. It’s the toughest penalty available to the Pope – with the exception of ex-communication, and a sign the Church may finally be taking a stronger stance against clergymen who ...
Family Court ‘Expert’ Under Investigation
There are calls for change in the Australian family law system after an approved ‘expert’ was referred for investigation over allegations he prepared “grossly inaccurate” reports to be presented in evidence to support claims of child abuse and family violence. A group of parents has accused the expert of “grossly inaccurate and incomplete” recording of ...
Catholic Church Continues Refusal to Report Child Sexual Assaults
By Sonia Hickey and Ugur Nedim Australia’s Catholic leaders have steadfastly refused to break the seal of confession, regardless of the consequences. Existing laws Section 127 of the New South Wales Evidence Act enables clergy “to refuse to disclose a religious confession made to him or her, unless the confession was made for a criminal ...