Joey Myer appeals child sexual abuse conviction
A former political candidate who was found guilty of sexual abusing a girl will appeal his prison sentence in the Supreme Court.
Police & Courts
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A child sex offender and former political candidate who was jailed for using his position as a personal trainer to sexually abuse a girl will fight his convictions in the Supreme Court.
After a trial and more than eight hours of deliberations a jury discovered Joey Myer guilty in March, 2021 of 12 offences including 11 counts of indecently treating a child under 16 and one count of rape.
Myer indecently treated the girl he had trained in his position as a personal trainer on seven occasions in 2018 and 2019.
He was sentenced in Maroochydore District Court on March 5, 2021 to eight years and six months jail with his 787 days of pre-sentence custody declared as time already served.
Myer, who was confirmed to have been released from custody by a Queensland Corrective Services spokesman has since launched an appeal to fight his sentence and convictions.
He is expected to have the appeal heard in the Brisbane Supreme Court on March 15.
During his March, 2021 trial a recorded conversation between Mr Myer and a friend of the girl was played.
In the 30-minute conversation in a McDonald’s carpark on January 7, 2019, Mr Myer, who ran for the seat of Fisher in the 2013 federal election, spoke about his sexual interaction with the girl.
“What I’ve done over the past I don’t know last six weeks I didn’t even f------ see it coming’,” he said.
“I honestly didn’t see it coming and did I pursue it?
“I’m not sure it just f------ happened and I wish I never did it because now it’s come back to bite me in the arse and I could be in serious trouble with the law.”
In the recording Mr Myer was heard saying he didn’t have sex with the teen.
“It wasn’t predatory behaviour it was consensual,” he said.
“She wanted you to do it?” the friend asked.
“100 per cent you’ve got no f------ idea, she is all over me, f------ in my face loving it, but I should know better cause I’m the older one,” he said.
“I’m not a f------ paedophile that’s not who I am, I care for … (her).”
Myer was also heard apologising to the girl during two phone calls.
The girl had told the now 38-year-old she felt sick about incidents that occurred at a number of Caloundra beaches and in his Golden Beach apartment.
After speaking with the girl, Mr Myer told her family friend he was a lawyer and knew how to get out of it if the girl had gone to police.
“If you get me caught I’m still going to get out of it because I know how to, you have to prove it, but I don’t want to do that because I don’t want to make her out for this f------ gone girl that was just staging this s---,” he said in the McDonald’s carpark conversation.
During sentencing Crown Prosecutor Christopher Cook described the offending as predator and persistent which put the teen in a position where she felt powerless and unable to tell anyone.
“His motivation was clearly his own sexual gratification,” he said.
“Mr Myer betrayed the trust he had set up with this family, he manipulated them (and) the evidence seemed to show he is very self-indulgent.”
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