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ABC News
7 minutes ago
- ABC News
Junior football club allowed convicted sex offender to time-keep at match
A regional Victorian football club allowed a convicted sex offender to volunteer at a junior game in what it now admits was a "gap" in child safety processes. Bendigo father Sonny Middleton served six months in prison after pleading guilty in 2024 to the indecent assault of an 18-year-old woman. Earlier this month, multiple parents saw Middleton time-keeping at a White Hills Junior Football Club match in Bendigo and told the ABC they were concerned the club was allowing a sex offender to participate in children's sport. Middleton, who is a former White Hills footballer himself, confirmed to the ABC he attended his son's game on July 20 and volunteered as a time keeper but said he did nothing wrong. "I'm a good person," he said. "I'm a family man, I'm a businessman." Middleton was unable to confirm whether he held a valid Working with Children Check which volunteers at sporting clubs must hold under Victoria's Child Safe Standards. The White Hills Junior Football Club declined to respond to questions from the ABC about whether it checked Middleton's Working with Children Check status. In a statement drafted with the assistance of the AFL, a club spokesperson said it was "currently investigating a matter relating to a parent who assisted the team by running the time clock at a recent match". "The parent filled in when the normal time clock person was unavailable and the parent had no interaction with the playing group on the day," it said. "Our club, run by volunteers, takes its commitment to the safety and wellbeing of everyone extremely seriously, and especially the safety of children and young people." Sporting clubs in Victoria are required to meet the Victorian Children's Commissioner's Child Safe Standards which include a current Working with Children Check for volunteers. The Commission for Children and Young People's guide to the Child Safe Standards states that "failing to properly check references can compromise child safety". The White Hills Junior Football Club is now reviewing its policies and procedures and promised to "implement any necessary corrective actions immediately." "Our focus remains on ensuring strong safeguards and ongoing compliance to maintain a safe and supportive environment for all players, families, and spectators," a spokesperson said. AFL Victoria and AFL Central Victoria did not respond to questions. The White Hills Junior Football Club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL) Central Victoria region, which is managed by Cameron Tomlins. In a phone call with the ABC, Mr Tomlins repeatedly said it was his job to "protect" the junior football club because it was run by volunteers. Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) safeguarding director Lisa Purves disagreed. She said every level of sport, including volunteer-run clubs, had a legislative requirement to check volunteers' backgrounds including a valid Working with Children Check. "Where they do know of a risk, and they do know of a person having a conviction, then they do need to take steps to ensure that … all members are provided with a safe environment," Ms Purves said. "They [clubs] have a responsibility to do this. If they don't do it then what happens is the next royal commission, we have opportunities for children and young people … to be harmed in sport, and that's not what we want. "It's not just about turning up to play your sport." Ms Purves also observed that governing bodies could be reluctant to police volunteers because people were giving up their time to run the sport. "I want to recognise the difficulty that people running these clubs might have. Yes, more needs to be done, and the sport itself needs to help the grassroots clubs manage this better."
ABC News
7 minutes ago
- ABC News
NSW MP Gareth Ward likely to be removed from parliament after conviction for sex crimes
A sitting member of the NSW parliament has been convicted of serious sexual offences — so what happens next? The independent member for Kiama, Gareth Ward, was found guilty of four offences relating to the sexual abuse of two young men after a nine-week trial in the NSW District Court. Following the verdict, the NSW government swiftly called for the 44-year-old to resign from parliament — claiming his position was "no longer tenable". Even the Liberal Party — the previous party of Ward — said the politician had breached public trust and his crimes were an "abuse of power". The conviction of a sitting politician for serious crimes is a rare event. Ward was previously barred from parliament when the allegations first surfaced, but his shock re-election saw him return. Now that he has been found guilty by a jury, will he be removed from office? The NSW Constitution contains provisions for expelling sitting members convicted of an "infamous crime" — that is an offence that carries a maximum sentence of more than five years. All four of Gareth Ward's offences meet that criterion, with the most serious offence — sexual intercourse without consent — carrying a maximum prison term of 14 years. However, the politician's seat will not be vacated just yet. Ward has 28 days to lodge an appeal in the NSW District Court, and his seat in parliament will not be declared vacant until the challenge is resolved. However, these provisions do not interfere with the powers of the House to expel members. Election analyst Ben Raue is a close observer of Australian politics. He said the NSW parliament has powers to remove politicians. "I can't imagine they would have issues passing a motion of suspension, I think that would be the bare minimum to be honest," he said. Mr Raue said NSW parliament is in unchartered waters with this case. "It is very unusual," he said. After the verdict, Ward was granted bail release to return home ahead of a hearing on Wednesday where the Crown will seek to have the politician taken into custody ahead of his sentence. The verdict was handed down more than three years after Ward was first charged. The then-Liberal politician was stood down from his portfolio as the NSW Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services after it emerged that he was the subject of a police investigation. In 2022 he was suspended from parliament after he refused to resign over the allegations. "That is one of the things that is so odd about this case is normally when people are facing serious criminal charges like this, they resign from their public office," said Mr Raue. Despite the case hanging over his head and his inability to represent his community in the parliament — constituents in Kiama re-elected him in 2023, allowing him to return to parliament. "I think it is a sign of how popular he had been that he managed to get re-elected," said Mr Raue. "I think there was a recognition that the voters had their say and until he is convicted, he is a member of parliament." Mr Raue said the conviction means voters in Kiama are likely to be returning to the polls. "I think it is likely now we will see a by-election at some point — either he resigns, or he is expelled," he said.
News.com.au
7 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Aussie killer who took ‘delight' in murdering dad and stepmum fights sentence 10 years after he was jailed
Warning: Distressing content. A man who took a 'chilling' delight in killing his father and stepmother is fighting his 42-year jail sentence more than a decade after the brutal crimes. Corey Breen was jailed for 42 years with a non-parole period of 33 years in 2015 after he murdered his father, Paul Breen, and stepmother, Felicia Crawford. Breen in 2013 used a hunting knife to smash the glass panels of the unlocked front door of his father's North Sydney home before kicking the door open on Good Friday. Breen later admitted to police he had smashed the glass to give his dad the 'f**king spooks before I killed the c**t'. Paul screamed out before his son stabbed him 15 times, killing him 'on the spot'. Ms Crawford tried to hide behind the door of a converted bedroom in the garage just outside the home, but Breen used the door to pin her against the wall before stabbing her 10 times. She managed to stagger back to her bedroom, falling from her bed before she died. Two young children were inside the home and witnessed the horrific murders, with judge Jane Mathews saying they would be affected by the events for the rest of their lives. After spending more than 10 years in prison, Breen, now 38, is fighting his sentence in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal. He argued in his grounds of appeal that Judge Mathews made several errors in sentencing, including by taking into account nine connected offences from a crime spree Breen embarked on the afternoon of the murders. It included stabbing a bystander in the face that caused a 'significant' laceration that required emergency treatment. His grounds of appeal also allege Judge Mathews made mistakes determining Breen's overall non-parole period in finding the offences involved multiple victims and a series of criminal acts and by determining previous convictions were an aggravating factor. Killer's 'violent fantasies' Breen had been 'nursing violent fantasies' long before killing his parents, evidenced by a chilling letter he wrote to his mum in 2009. He wrote he was 'happy, fun and would do anything for my friends', but things changed when he was alone. 'I get very angry and plot out murders of people I hate. I do it all in my head. I run over it again and again refining every detail,' Breen wrote. 'They are always extremely horrific and extremely brutal. 'I'm scared someday soon the monster that I've kept locked away for so long will finally reach the surface.' He wrote that people would suffer and die if the 'monster' was unleashed, acknowledging the thoughts were 'evil' and he had not acted on them because nothing had 'pushed (him) quite that far yet'. 'But I do feel it is close,' he wrote. Judge Mathews said in her judgment the 'letter assumes a highly chilling quality when one considers the circumstances of these offences, more than 3½ years later.' His mum encouraged him to seek psychological help after she received the letter, but Breen appeared to keep his 'evil' thoughts to himself. He threatened to kill several of his relatives the following year over the belief they didn't support him enough when he lost his job after he was convicted for a 2009 assault at work. By 2011, he was estranged from his entire family. 'Ur dead': Disturbing text before murders Breen began his crime spree in the hours before the homicide by assaulting his girlfriend. He armed himself with a 19cm hunting knife and took out a rifle at one point, but a guest at his home managed to confiscate it before Breen walked out of the home with the blade. Running at a female bystander, Breen changed course and stabbed a man in the face before stealing a woman's bike and unleashing at a nearby convenience store. There, he assaulted another two bystanders and his girlfriend – who had followed him to try to calm him down – and tried to steal a car. He knocked over shelves in a bid to get to one of the bystanders and take his keys, stabbing at the staff door the man had hid behind. As the chaos unfolded, Breen texted his girlfriend's mum, writing 'Ur dead u filthy c**t', and stole a car from a nearby home before driving to his grandparents' home with the intent to kill them. Once there he stole another car and drove to his friends' home to steal guns to use to kill his parents. A resident who was home refused to give him a shotgun, and he squeezed her hand holding the keys to a firearm storage room tightly. He eventually let her go and left after taking her phone, at which point he drove to his dad's house. Police caught him a short time later, with an officer telling him he was under arrest for several stabbings and car theft. 'Multiple murder, mate,' Breen replied. 'I achieved my mission.' Son's 'delight' in killing parents Judge Mathews said both Paul and Ms Crawford's final moments must have been 'filled with unimaginable fear and horror', the 'horrendous' events sparked after something inside Breen 'snapped'. In a 'chilling' interview with police after the murders, Breen revealed he had been on his way to his mum's house when he was caught, saying he would have 'knifed her', his mum's boyfriend, his siblings, 'and whoever else was there'. He told officers he'd had a 'time bomb' sitting in his head and he knew he would kill his dad sooner or later. 'Just tonight was the night,' he said in his police interview. Judge Mathews said Breen expressed 'pleasure' over the killings, telling officers of his 'absolute pure hatred' for Paul and Ms Crawford because of his 'sh*t upbringing'. 'The delight he expressed in having murdered the two victims is quite chilling,' Judge Mathews said of Breen's police interview. Breen later told a forensic psychiatrist that he didn't remember any events surrounding the murders or the interview: He said: 'The person in the interview is not me … it sends my blood chilling.' Judge Mathews noted Breen had told a forensic psychiatrist that he was drinking heavily on the day of the killings and was taking an antidepressant, the doctor later diagnosing him with a substance abuse disorder. He found while Breen did set out to kill his dad and stepmum, it was not planned in advance. That, along with Breen's 'deep remorse' and findings he had reasonable prospects of rehabilitation, meant the offences fell short of the maximum imprisonment of life in jail, Judge Mathews said. Breen will fight his sentence during an appeal hearing on October 22.
