Blake Ross: medic jailed for child sex offender registry breaches

A child protection worker only found out the father of her child was a convicted sex offender when his file came across her desk at work. Now she wants him freed from jail.

A convicted child sex offender’s on and off again girlfriend revealed she gave up her career in child protection to be with the man she loves before he was thrown back in jail for unlawfully working as a medic.

Blake Michael Ross, 27, was charged with 11 counts of failing to comply with his conditions as a person on the child sex offender registry in July 2020 after police discovered he was secretly working as a medic.

He will now spend the next eight months in jail and miss the birth of his second child after pleading guilty to all 11 breaches and a District Court appeal.

Blake Michael Ross arrives at Downing Centre Court before he is taken into custody. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Ross was first jailed for six months in September 2017 and placed on the child sex offender register for 15 years after he was found guilty of having sex with girls aged 14 and 15.

In May 2020 the St George Shire Standard exclusively revealed Ross received an 18-month conditional release order without conviction for failing to report to police for his annual check.

Police subsequently began investigating other aspects of Ross’s personal life, when they discovered he had hidden his career as a medic for almost 12 months.

An investigation revealed Ross had worked as a private medic for EMS Event Medical at more than 140 events – including some where children were present – from June 6 2019 until he was dismissed on May 23 last year.

Two of the breaches to which Ross pleaded guilty pertained to his medic employment, while others related mostly to dormant social media accounts, a change in vehicle he failed to notify and a visit to a young relative.

At Sydney District Court on Wednesday, Ross’s on and off girlfriend revealed in court how she gave up her career in child protection to be with the man she loves.

Ross’s pregnant partner – who the St George Shire Standard has chosen not to name – took the witness stand at his District Court sentence appeal.

Under examination from Ross’s barrister Cate Doosey, the woman told the court she only found out her former flame was on the child sex offenders register when a file with his name on it came across her desk, forcing her to declare a conflict of interest.

In more recent times, the pair have rekindled their romance.

Blake Ross in his former work uniform and his RFS uniform from his previous stint as a volunteer firefighter. Picture: Supplied

The woman told the court she no longer worked in child protection but had instead taken a new job with a “very much reduced income” meaning Ross’s incarceration would have a significant financial impact upon her.

“Was that (quitting the job in child protection) in at least a large part due to your relationship with Mr Ross?” Ms Doosey asked.

“It was, yes,” she said.

“What does the immediate future look like to you if Mr Ross is incarcerated?” Ms Doosey asked.

“The financial situation is looking quite dire at this point,” she said.

“You understand there’s been a fairly fundamental failure on Blake’s behalf to conform to the requirements of being on the register? Ms Doosey said.

“I made it very clearly I expect to not find ourselves in this position again,” she replied.

Ross after a prior court appearance. Picture: Liam Mendes

Under cross examination from the Crown, the woman said the pair were not romantically involved and had “limited contact” when he failed to disclose his work as a medic in circumstances where he could be around children.

“I found out about the current charges when it was published in The Daily Telegraph,” the woman said.

Ms Doosey told the court many of the social media accounts her client had failed to disclose to the register were inactive.

“He was not motivated by sinister or nefarious purposes,” Ms Doosey said.

Judge Ingram questioned Ross’s knowledge of his obligations.

“He must have known the requirements of the register. He was taken through them chapter and verse wasn’t he?” Judge Ingram said.

“When put on the register, there was not the level of rigour there is now,” Ms Doosey said.

Ross, 27.

Ms Doosey said all of his breaches were as the result of Ross “digging his head in the sand” as observed by his treating psychologist.

“There was certainly a level of denial and avoidance driven by a fear of consequences if he did disclose (his job) to the register,” Ms Doosey said.

“He had a motivation or compulsion to put his life back together when he was released from custody.”

Ms Doosey also submitted email evidence of three occasions when Ross attempted to initiate a “conversation” with his employer to disclose his criminal history but conceded none of them progressed.

Judge Ingram said he worked at 140 events for the employer, some of which were open to minors, so there were many times the conversation could have been broached.

“It’s more than just one head in the sand on one occasion. Without descending into discussion, there was quite a lot of opportunities,” Judge Ingram said.

“I absolutely take your Honour’s point. There were an absolute multiplicity of opportunities,” Ms Doosey said.

Ross in happier times.

Judge Ingram said the court could only view Ross’s actions as either deliberate, or at the upper end of extreme recklessness.

“He did not want to lose out on the opportunity to continue his degree and obtain employment and he knew if he disclosed this to police he would be precluded from taking up the employment in the first place,” Judge Ingram said.

“Putting one’s head in the sand has undesirable effects, and they can be potentially catastrophic.”

Judge Ingram upheld Ross’s appeal in part, maintaining the 12-month head sentence but reducing the non-parole period from nine months to eight months.

He will be eligible for parole on March 5 2022.