Milton Orkopoulos ‘lives with daily shame’ after paedophile conviction
Former Labor MP and convicted paedophile Milton Orkopoulos says he lost 40kg in prison where he served 11 years for child sex offences and that he now lives with “daily shame.”
NSW
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Paedophile former Labor MP Milton Orkopoulos said he lost 40kg in jail and still lived with the “daily shame” of his crimes, in his first interview since being released.
Orkopoulos, who was on his third week of parole after 11 years in jail for child sex offences, was charged this morning with two counts of failing to comply with reporting obligations.
Mr Orkopoulos spoke to The Daily Telegraph about his original offences outside Ruby’s Diner coffee shop near Waverley Court, where he is due to appear today on the most recent charges.
“Everyday I wake up praying for forgiveness,” he said.
“Everyday. Not for the specific issues but for me causing all of this to my family. And my children and my grandchildren.
“I’m beyond embarrassed. It’s a daily shame.”
Mr Orkopoulos said he was treated well in jail.
“I was looked after very well, by the inmates and staff there,” he said.
“There is more freedom in jail when you have nothing, then when you’re outside and have access to everything.
“That’s an irony you sort of need to grasp.”
Mr Orkopoulos said he weighed 110 kilograms before jail and left much lighter.
“I got down to 70 (kilos) because of the food,” he said.
“The only fruit is apples and bananas, but there are starving people in Australia and even on the streets – so who are we to complain.”
Mr Orkopoulos said he was not going to talk about why he committed the crimes in the first place. He said he was surprised by the technology advances upon leaving jail.
“I am three weeks out of jail and I am having trouble with this new technology I don’t know about,” he said.
“Nokia didn’t have apps in 2007.
“It’s another universe, another dimension.”
Mr Orkopoulos was released from Maroubra Police Station this morning on strict conditional bail and is due to appear in Waverley Court this afternoon.