Former staffer to then-premier Gladys Berejiklian admits to abusing children

A former political staffer to then-premier Gladys Berejiklian was charged with historic child sex abuse while she was in office – but a court order prevented anyone knowing until today.

A former staffer for Gladys Berejiklian has admitted to sexually abusing two children while he was a teenager.

Suppression orders have prevented the case from seeing the light of day and the staffer’s name and identifying features can never legally be revealed.

But those suppressions expired on Friday afternoon, meaning the details of the case itself can finally be released.

The staffer was arrested in 2020 after police spent four years investigating allegations made by a man and woman who had claimed to be abused as children in the mid-1990s.

The male and female victims claimed an older boy had sexually abused them under the guise of playing “games”.

They were aged eight- to 11-years-old at the time, while their abuser was 14- to 16-years-old.

Their abuser went into politics as an adult and ultimately worked for the NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian.

There is no suggestion Ms Berejiklian or anyone else knew about the man’s crimes, which took place long before his career in politics.

The staffer pleaded guilty to six charges shortly before facing trial earlier this year.

His lawyers are calling on the NSW District Court judge to spare him prison, saying the abuse ceased without outside intervention from police or any adults.

Prosecutors submitted that a community corrections order would be an appropriate penalty.

The staffer will face sentence next month.