Vatican Accuses Australian Bishop of Sexual Offences
An independent report commissioned by the Vatican has labelled a Catholic Bishop from Western Australia a ‘sexual predator’, accusing him of sexually assaulting four Indigenous youths and grooming dozens of others. Vatican commissioned investigation The Vatican confirmed it commissioned the...
What Constitutes ‘Penetration’ for a Sexual Assault Offence in NSW?
Sexual offences in New South Wales have always distinguished between non-consensual physical activity involving actual penetration – including the historical offence of rape which was abolished in 1981 and the offence carnal knowledge which was abolished in 1986 – and non-penetrative,...
Russell Brand: Next on the #MeToo Sexual Abuser Hitlist
Following the well-publicised convictions in the United States of Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Bill Cosby - the last of which was subsequently overturned - the latest in a series of sexual assault allegations to come in the...
A History of Sexual Consent Laws in Australia
Throughout history, sexual consent laws have historically been intrinsically linked with child sexual abuse laws. In recent years, following the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse and the high profile sexual assault trial of Saxon Mullins, both sexual consent and child...
‘Sextortion’ Can Amount to a Criminal Offence Across Australia
According to recent media reports, there has been a rise of attempts as Australia at ‘sexual extortion’, abbreviated to ‘sextortion’, with social media sites being used to target and blackmail victims, many of whom are young men concerned about compromising...
Spain’s ‘MeToo Moment”: Sexual Touching or Blown Out of Proportion?
Unless you’re not into the world sport of football, or as we call in here in Australia, soccer, you’ll know Spain’s 1:0 win over England in the FIFA Women’s World Cup final was marred by controversy after the president of...
Brian Houston Found Not Guilty of Concealing Child Sexual Abuse
Hillsong Church Founder Brian Houston has been cleared of accusations he concealed child sexual offences committed by his father, Frank Houston, in the 1970s. Brian Houston, who is a long time friend of former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, was...
The Sinister Side of AI: Scams, Sabotage and Sexualisation
We’ve been hearing the ‘astounding’ benefits of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) over the past couple of years and how it has the potential to ‘revolutionise” the world in which we live. In the race to embrace the technology, little attention...
The Law, Penalties and Defences for Making Bestiality Pornography in NSW
A Queensland couple has been charged with engaging in a series of sexual acts involving dogs and capturing it on video. 37-year old Crystal May Hoare and 28-year old Jay Wade Veenstra, 28 are each charged with five counts of...
Sexual Offences Against Young Persons Under ‘Special Care’ in New South Wales
The story of Chris Dawson, a high school teacher who married one of his former student’s after his wife Lynette’s disappearance in 1982 is a case that has gripped the nation. And justice for Lynette’s family has been a long...
