Paedophile Orkopoulos caught talking to child on phone
The lawyer for former MP and convicted child sex offender Milton Orkopoulos says his alleged parole breach is at the lower end of the scale.
NSW
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Convicted paedophile and former NSW Labor MP Milton Orkopoulos is back behind bars after being denied bail over alleged failures to comply with his reporting obligations.
The 62-year-old, who appeared via video link, hung his head in Waverley Local Court as Magistrate Allison Hawkins denied him bail on five charges.
The former Iemma government MP spent 11½ years in jail after he was convicted of 30 child sex offences.
He was granted parole in December but has been arrested twice since then for allegedly failing to comply with his reporting obligations.
He was hit with three fresh charges yesterday relating to the alleged use of a mobile phone with internet connection.
Orkopoulos is due to appear in court again in March and Ms Hawkins says there was a real chance he would be sent back to prison if convicted.
“If he valued his liberty he would be fastidious in complying with the order which is in place for the protection of the community,” Ms Hawkins said.
Orkopoulos’ lawyer, Omar Juweinat, described the conditions placed upon his client as “draconian, burdensome, onerous and unjustified” and argued they restricted normal human interaction.
The former Labor MP was previously arrested on January 22 for allegedly setting up an Instagram account — on which he followed soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo — and not telling police within the required seven days.
He was also accused of talking to a child relative on the phone.
Mr Juweinat said the extent of the conversation with the child was saying “Hi”.
“What weighs heavily on the application is the police had no knowledge of the phone call until they asked him,” the lawyer said.
Orkopoulos pleaded not guilty in January and was released on bail. But he was rearrested on Wednesday when Corrective Services NSW officers reported to police that he had used the mobile phone of a fellow resident at the Malabar halfway house where he lives.
Mr Juweinat told the court the 62-year-old used the mobile to call his sister because it sometimes took a long time to line up to use the halfway house’s telephone.
According to the police, he told them it was “hard and annoying” to wait in line to use a phone.
“He used the phone of another resident,” Mr Juweinat said.
“Objectively, it doesn’t fall on the upper end of the scale. It would if there was some form of evidence he had contacted a minor or had some communications with a minor — I could see that being of public concern.”
NSW Police argue Orkopoulos isn’t forbidden from having a phone, however he’s required to inform them.