Ex-Victoria Police superintendent Paul Rosenblum pleads guilty to accessing police information
A former top cop sought information on a member of his church under investigation for alleged sex crimes out of “goodwill”.
South East
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A former top cop abused his powers to get details on a Victoria Police investigation into an alleged church sex crime, a court has heard.
Paul Rosenblum, 57, was sentenced in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday to a three-month adjourned undertaking without conviction after pleading guilty to accessing police information without reasonable excuse.
Rosenblum, a 34-year police veteran who rose to the rank of superintendent, went rogue between December 2016 and May 2017.
The court heard Rosenblum was asked by a member of the Frankston Presbyterian Church to glean information about an investigation Seymour Sexual Offences And Child Abuse Investigation Team was running into one of its parishioners.
Rosenblum told the church he could not interfere or get involved but agreed to contact the sex crime squad, the court was told.
Rosenblum ran checks on the church member through Victoria Police’s LEAP database via a work computer to determine which officers were involved in the investigation.
He ran checks on a second church member who was also believed to be under police investigation, in January 2017.
The former top cop then contacted a detective senior constable, identifying himself as a superintendent and a member of the Frankston Presbyterian Church.
Rosenblum asked the detective about Seymour SOCIT’s investigations and confirmed whether the church members were under investigation.
Rosenblum called the detective again in May and then emailed him asking about the dates of the investigations into the members.
The court heard it was not suggested Rosenblum had accessed the information for the purpose of influencing or interfering with the investigations.
It was also heard other charges against Rosenblum had been withdrawn.
Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission officers interviewed Rosenblum in December 2018 then he quit the force in April 2019.
Magistrate Ross Maxted noted Rosenblum had been charged as a civilian, despite being a high-ranking police officer, and well aware of the law.
Rosenblum’s lawyer emphasised his client’s distinguished and previously unblemished career in which he trained other officers.
“Mr Rosenblum has served his community without incident and in the most exemplary fashion for more than three decades,” he said.
“It is a professional life punctuated by industry contribution and selflessness.”
References from six former high-ranking police officers were tendered to the court to attest to Rosenblum’s “personal and professional” qualities.
The lawyer pushed for Rosenblum to avoid being handed a conviction, saying he had suffered the punishment of having to end his honourable career in an “unflattering” way.
The lawyer said Rosenblum still had much to offer his community, and needed to gain employment, which would be impeded by a conviction.
It was heard Rosenblum continued to do volunteer work with his church, mentoring fellow members, and had previously served on the board of a local football club.
Mr Maxted said he accepted Rosenblum’s inquiries into the investigations were motivated by goodwill to provide comfort to the church and not for personal gain.
Mr Maxted said the offence was reasonably low-level, and that the remorseful Rosenblum had already suffered a significant “fall from grace”.
As part of the adjourned undertaking Mr Maxted ordered Rosenblum pay $10,000 to the Victoria Police Blue Ribbon Foundation and $10,000 to the Beyond Blue foundation.
The court heard Rosenblum had previously fronted Dandenong Magistrates’ Court for possessing unlicensed firearms but had avoided a conviction after pleading guilty.
