Ex-cop Robert John Wotton jailed over sexual abuse of three children

An ex-police officer has been jailed for sexually abusing three children in a series of ‘opportunistic’ and ‘predatory’ attacks that spanned more than a decade.

A former police officer will spend at least four years and nine months in jail, after sexually abusing two girls and a young boy in what a judge described as a series of “opportunistic and predatory” attacks.

Robert John Wotton, 53, hung his head as Judge Siobhan Herbert sentenced him to a total sentence of seven years in prison on Friday.

Wotton was found guilty at a judge-alone trial earlier this year of two counts of indecent assault on a child under 10, four counts of indecent assault on a child under 16, and one count of inciting a child under 10 to commit an indecent act.

Despite the guilty verdict, Wotton has maintained his innocence, with the court hearing his wife Virgina has his full support and continues to stand by him.

Wotton, who was in his 40s at the time, repeatedly attacked one girl and a boy, and a second girl in a series of indecent assaults in Sydney between 2007 and 2017.

Robert John Wotton. Picture: Facebook

According to court documents, Wotton touched the children on their genitalia, and on one occasion forced one of the girls to touch his penis as they sat on her bed.

Wotton, who served as a police officer between 1990 and 1998, told each of the children not to tell anyone about the abuse, saying it was “their secret”.

Wotton only stopped abusing the boy after he threatened to tell his dad about Wotton’s abuse.

“No … I do not want you to do it any more,” the boy said.

“I thought you liked it,” Wotton replied.

The boy then said: “Stop touching me, if you do it again I’ll tell my dad.”

The court heard the boy did not tell anyone about what had happened until sometime later, saying he was “too nervous and scared” of what would happen.

In handing down her sentence, Judge Herbert said Wotton had taken advantage of his position of trust over the children.

“The home should be a sanctuary for a child,” she said.

“This a clear breach of his position of trust and each offence could be seen as opportunistic … which is consistent with his activity being predatory.”

While Wotton told a psychiatrist he did not have any fear being with the general population of prisoners at Parklea jail, Judge Herbert said his lack of worry was “naive”.

He also denied having any sexual fantasies about children, and said he was only attracted to adult women.

Judge Herbert rejected the psychiatrist’s view that Wotton was a low risk of reoffending, instead saying she was “guarded” about his prospects of rehabilitation and that he would require serious treatment.

Wotton has suffered from depressive moods and anxiety, which have worsened in jail, especially due to Covid and visitor restrictions.

Judge Herbert said the offences committed by Wotton were “of great concern to the community”.

Wotton will be eligible for release on parole in October 2026.

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