Charities back away after cheer squad icon Jeffrey ‘Joffa’ Corfe’s child sex charges
High-profile groups are distancing themselves from Collingwood super fan Jeffrey ‘Joffa’ Corfe amid child sex charges as his wife breaks her silence.
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Charities have distanced themselves from Collingwood fanatic Jeffrey ‘Joffa’ Corfe in the aftermath of charges being laid against him over historical child sex offences.
Mr Corfe claims on his LinkedIn profile that he has been an ambassador for several groups, including the Epilepsy Foundation and Reclink Australia.
Epilepsy Foundation CEO, Graeme Shears, said while Mr Corfe had supported their cause in the past, his role as an ambassador ceased in 2019.
Reclink CEO David Wells said Mr Corfe had never been an official ambassador for the sports and arts organisation.
News Corp Australia can reveal Mr Corfe, 60, has been charged with two counts of sexual penetration of a minor under 16. It is understood the alleged victim is male and was aged 14 at the time of the alleged offences.
Speaking outside their Queensland home his wife said “he is resting at the moment.”
When asked if he will be fighting the charges she told Nine News, “I don’t know, I don’t know anything about that.”
Collingwood Football Club reacted to the police investigation of Mr Corfe, best known for his time as the Pies’ cheer squad leader.
“Collingwood condemns without qualification inappropriate conduct of any kind but cannot, and will not, comment on matters before the court,’’ the club said.
Fawkner Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team launched a probe last year after receiving a complaint from the alleged victim, with the offences alleged to have occurred in Coburg in 2005.
News Corp Australia can reveal Mr Corfe was arrested in Abbotsford on Thursday, May 6, and charged before facing a filing hearing the following day.
The allegations come after one of the Pies’ most recognisable supporters returned from Fiji last year after living there for nine months.
Mr Corfe arrived back in late October, spending two weeks in Sydney’s hotel quarantine, before moving to Queensland where he is understood to have family.
On Wednesday, May 5, Mr Corfe took to Instagram to announce a five-day return to Melbourne and was staying at a hotel in Melbourne’s CBD.
Mr Corfe, who usually maintains an active social media presence, has not posted anything on Instagram or Twitter since that date.
His visit coincided with the North Melbourne v Collingwood match that was held on Saturday, May 8, at Marvel Stadium.
Mr Corfe applied for and was given bail after his last court appearance, but will be required to appear before Melbourne Magistrates Court on July 30 for a committal mention.
Mr Corfe moved to a remote village in Fiji after he “fell in love with the place” following a visit in 2019.
He previously described the experience as “life changing and an eye opener to extreme poverty”.
It’s unclear why he returned to Australia, but a few days earlier he posted on social media: “With mixed feelings I leave the village, so many friends good times and sad times, how lucky we are to be Australian.”
The Collingwood mega fan drew criticism in March when he attacked Indian aged care workers after the federal government received the final report of the aged care royal commission.
“Get rid of all Indian workers in aged care might be a start,” he tweeted at the time.
He added he would not “be silenced by the bulls--t minority pretending to be the do gooders”.
Collingwood condemned his comments at the time, and said he was not a member of the football club but had a “long association with the organisation”.
Mr Corfe refused to comment when contacted by News Corp Australia on Wednesday night.
His lawyer Louis Dean, of Slade and Parsons Criminal Lawyers, did not respond to a request for comment.
Originally published as Charities back away after cheer squad icon Jeffrey ‘Joffa’ Corfe’s child sex charges
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