Child sex offender allowed to work in firms, for barristers

[Jim Burton]

https://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/biglaw ... barristers

The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal approved an application by a law graduate – whose name has been anonymised for legal reasons – to work as a lay associate, despite being convicted of serious sexual offences involving 10 children between the ages of 13 and 15.

He was convicted for six counts of using a carriage service for sexual activity with persons under 16, and four counts of using a carriage service to groom persons under 16, both between April 2013 and October 2014.

While the criminal trial judge acknowledged the “immediate reaction” would be to jail the graduate for a “substantial period”, he said the graduate was in his early 20s at the time, had entered an early plea of guilty, and “repeatedly, powerfully, intelligently” expressed remorse.