The Federal government has announced tough new laws for sex-offenders – purported to be the harshest since the establishment of the Criminal Code Act in 1995. The proposed legislation, called Crimes Legislation Amendment (Sexual Crimes Against Children and Community Protection Measures) Bill, will make it more difficult for alleged child sex offenders to be granted ...
Category: Sex Offences
Judge’s Decision Was a “Substantial Miscarriage of Justice”
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Kenneth Bell was being held in prison awaiting trial on allegations of sexual assault, when he was savagely attacked on 16 June 2013, suffering a fractured eye socket, traumatic brain injury, and left in a coma for several days. Due to his injuries, Mr Bell was assessed as unfit ...
Priests Should be Prosecuted for Failing to Report Child Sexual Assault
By Zeb Holmes and Ugur Nedim The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has recommended that clergy who fail to report child sexual assaults disclosed during religious confessions should face criminal charges. The Commissioners heard evidence that confessions of child sexual abuse were not reported to authorities, and says that protecting children ...
Sexual Assault: ‘Part of University Life’
Recommendations have been made for an independent investigation into the problem of sexual assaults at Australian universities, after a survey found that students are suffering “unacceptable” rates of victimisation. The findings arise from a landmark survey of 31,000 Australian students, many of whom report being assaulted on the way to university, inside residential colleges, and ...
Police DNA Bungle Clears Alleged Child Abusing Priest
By Zeb Holmes and Ugur Nedim Victorian Police have admitted a major bungle of DNA evidence that led to several key suspects being ruled out as suspects in the brutal 1980 murder of Melbourne mother Maria James. The murder investigation hinged on a bloodied pillowcase, which was used to establish the DNA profile of the ...
NSW Police ‘Shoot First and Ask Questions Later’
The NSW Police Force Handbook is meant to be the gospel when it comes to policing in our state. It is a comprehensive, 518 page document which provides information, advice and guidance on practically every aspect of policing. The publicly available handbook establishes best practices which all police are meant to follow when executing their ...
South Australia Set to Decriminalise Sex Work
South Australia currently has some of the most repressive sex work laws in the country. However, a bill that passed through the South Australian upper house on July 6, has brought the decade’s long push to decriminalise the state’s sex work industry one step closer. The Statutes Amendment (Decriminalisation of Sex Work) Bill was initially tabled ...
Silencing Dissent: Myanmar Authorities Arrest Journalists
At around 3.30pm on June 26, a group of seven people were arrested by Myanmar authorities at a military checkpoint in the country’s conflict-ridden northern Shan state. Three local journalists were among the group who were detained in Namhsan township in the north of the region. Democratic Voice of Burma reporters Aye Nai and Pyae ...
Cardinal Pell Charged with Multiple Child Sex Offences
By Sonia Hickey and Ugur Nedim Victoria Police have confirmed that Australia’s highest ranking Catholic has been charged with multiple counts of sexual assault, including one of rape, in relation to allegations of criminal conduct in the 1970s. The charges follow months of speculation about whether police would follow through on the complaints against the Cardinal, ...
Prosecuting Potential Predators: Government Passes ‘Carly’s Law’
By Zeb Holmes and Ugur Nedim In 2007, 15-year old Carly Ryan was murdered in South Australia by 47-year old Gary Newman – who created more than 200 fake online profiles of young men to prey on underage girls. Carly’s mother, Sonya Ryan, later established the Carly Ryan Foundation which campaigned tirelessly for the introduction ...