In the Public Interest by Child Abuse Survivors and their Advocates in their Pursuit of Justice, Recognition, Recovery and Redress.
<< First < Previous Current Page "811" Next > Last >>
Article Category: 2007 January
Description:
Article originally prepared on : 19 January 2007
January 17, 2007 03:30pm
A CHURCH worker who sexually abused four young boys has confessed to nine more crimes, despite the objections of prosecutors.
Trevor John Russell has pleaded guilty to 17 sex offences committed during church youth camps in the early 1980s.
To show his "genuine remorse", he today asked the Supreme Court togive regard to offences he committed against five more boys between1971 and 1982.
Those crimes cannot add to any jail term, but may prevent him receiving a suspended sentence.
In a legal first, the Director of Public Prosecutions has urged the court to ignore the confession.
Prosecutors fear that, should those victims come forward, a newtrial would be considered an abuse of process - effectively grantinghim immunity.
State law, however, is on Russell's side, as it says victims cannot stop pedophiles dealing with their crimes in this way.
In June, the 57-year-old pleaded guilty to multiple counts ofunlawful sexual intercourse, indecent assault and gross indecency.
He abused boys in his care on church youth camps in the 1980s but his crimes did not come to light until 2005.
Russell did serve 18 months' jail in the 1980s for sex abuse committed after the camp offences.
Shane Spence, for Russell, said jail rehabilitated her "repressed homosexual" client, and he became "a different man".
"His genuine remorse and contrition cannot be understated ... hefelt devastated, adding to his sense of shame and worthlessness," shesaid.
She said Russell admitted abusing five more boys at the camps and other locations.
He wanted the court to take that into consideration, even if it meant he could not receive a suspended sentence.
Karen Ingleton, prosecuting, said the new victims could either notbe contacted, or had asked that their cases not be considered.
She pointed to a phone call Russell had made to one victim.
"There was a degree of panic ... it appears to be an attempt tocover-up, or keep quiet, other incidents of sexual misconduct," shesaid.
Justice Margaret Nyland will sentence Russell on a date to be set.
If you wish to keep this article alive in the Internet Archive simply click the link below.
Click here to add this page to the Internet Archive
<< First < Previous Current Page "811" Next > Last >>
Select from these TFYQA archives
Contact us if you have data you want to preserve.
Tell others, share this page on : X | BlueSky | Mastodon.Social | Strangeminds.Social | Facebook
Find us on X.com || New ID on Facebook || BlueSky || Mastodon.Social || Strangeminds.Social
trauma informed human rights justice failed institutions UN Convention on Human Rights Rights of the Child and a Bill of Rights for Australia future evidence resilience not providing or representing a secular Australia autodidact
Hegemony: The authority, dominance, and influence of one group, nation, or society over another group, nation, or society; typically through cultural, economic, or political means.
.
If you found this information to be of assistance please don't forget to donate so that we can extend these resources to more survivors. These pages are focused on preserving survivor relevant information. Information is not provided as legal or professional advice; it is provided as general information only and requires that you validate any information via your own legal or other professional service providers.
You can directly support my work at here