Child Sex Offences, Penalties and Defences in NSW
Sahar Adatia. A school teacher in the United States has been arrested on suspicion of having sex with a 14-year-old student in her car after naked photographs and explicit text messages were uncovered. Brittany Lopez-Murray, 31, who teaches drama at a Hialeah Middle Community School in Hialeah, Florida, was arrested on Saturday 2 October ...continue reading
Aggravated Sexual Intercourse with Child Aged 14, But Under 16 in NSW
Sahar Adatia and Jimmy Singh. A Sydney high school teacher has admitted in court to having sex with an underage student, pleading guilty to three counts of aggravated sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old. Monica Elizabeth Young was due to stand trial in September 2021 over allegations she repeatedly sexually assaulted a male student over ...continue reading
Law on Victims Compensation for Victims of Federal Offences in Australia
Poppy Morandin and Jimmy Singh. A Cambodian woman who was kidnapped as a child and forced into sex slavery has launched an Australian first challenge by requesting that a South Australian court should order financial compensation whilst sentencing her abuser. The unprecedented request has national significance due to how, if successful, the challenge may ...continue reading
Chef Sexually Assaults 16-year-old Girl Avoids Jail
34-year-old Melbourne Chef Graeme Walter has sexually penetrated a 16-year-old girl before giving her his clothes to wash away in order to keep the incident discreet from his wife. In June 2019, Graeme at the time was working as a chef at the Mornington Peninsula restaurant when on one night after having some drinks ...continue reading
NSW Police Officer Charged with Aggravated Sexual Intercourse with a Child
Concerns have been raised following the recent charge of a 29-year-old police officer last Tuesday. It is alleged that the male senior constable had sexual intercourse with a teenage girl aged less than 16, more than 14. The officer who was arrested last Tuesday has been suspended without pay, and is now facing charges ...continue reading
Latest BOSCAR statistics and the need for greater focus on rehabilitation: An interview with Deputy Mayor of Dubbo and Barrister Stephen Lawrence
By Poppy Morandin. Recent release of crime statistics detailing a quarterly update for this year, have revealed that crime across most of NSW has remained stable or fallen in the two years to June 2020. A major exception to this finding was within the crime category of sexual assault, which has risen 9.4% over ...continue reading
NSW Teacher Charged With Child Grooming Offences
By Poppy Morandin and Jimmy Singh. A 27-year-old man who formerly worked as a student teacher has been charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old female student. The arrest followed an investigation by the Detectives from the Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad beginning in June of this year, after the alleged victim reported that ...continue reading
Penalties on Publishing the Identity of Sexual Assault Survivors in NSW: Interview with Sexual Abuse Survivor, Activist and Jewish Community Leader Manny Waks
By Poppy Morandin and Jimmy Singh. Changes to Victoria’s Judicial Proceedings Reports Act have stopped survivors of sexual assault in Victoria from utilising their real names when publicly sharing their stories of abuse. The recent changes, which took effect in February 2020, mean that it is now an offence for victims, as well as ...continue reading
Section 32 Mental Health Applications now Replaced by Section 14 to Get Criminal Charges Dismissed in Court
There is an available legislative framework for a NSW court to determine criminal proceedings where the accused or defendant has mental health issues relevant to the case. This legislative framework is echoed in the old Act called The Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act 1990 (NSW) (‘The Act’). It is a response to the increasing contact with ...continue reading
Concerns Reignited for Prisoners Amid Further Outbreaks of COVID-19
By Poppy Morandin. There are reportedly 70 inmates in lockdown within Silverwater Correctional Complex after coming into close contact with a staff member who has tested positive for COVID-19. Within their advocacy efforts, The Greens have issued an open letter to Anthony Roberts, Minister for Corrections detailing the “significant concerns…about the lockdown at Silverwater ...continue reading