Sex offender collapses in Frankston court over claims he lied to police
A man, who was at Frankston Magistrates’ Court to face charges of lying to police and breaching the sex offender’s register, dramatically collapsed after he was warned he could be jailed.
South East
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A convicted creep facing charges of breaching the sex offender’s register by travelling interstate and lying to cops has collapsed in court.
Grant Thomas Kinniff appeared at Frankston Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday over an alleged illegal camping trip he took to South Australia in 2018.
He faced charges of failing to comply with reporting obligations and providing false information to police.
Kinniff is on the register for life after he was jailed in 2014 for unknown sexual crimes.
Details of his original offending were not read out in court.
The court heard in December 2018 he was pulled over by a police patrol in a car with a woman and two dogs in Portland, country Victoria, allegedly on his way to South Australia.
In his next annual interview in February 2019 he told registry police that he had in fact turned back and not gone interstate.
But when they checked they allegedly found out he had spent a total of 25 days in Mt Gambier and Hahndorf, near Adelaide.
He was interviewed again and allegedly admitted he had lied, saying he was remorseful and knew of his obligation to inform police beforehand to get permission to travel outside of Victoria.
Kinniff represented himself in court, saying he had not taken legal advice and intended to plead guilty.
The 54-year-old Peninsula fish and chip shop worker said he told the woman he did not want to go to South Australia to go camping but said she kept “hassling me” so he backed down.
He said he made the “stupid, naive” decision to go to SA because he was scared to tell the woman about his sex crime history.
Magistrate Timothy Gattuso said breaching offender registry rules were serious charges, and Kinniff could “go back into custody for this sort of breach” and really should get legal assistance.
But then Kinniff became ill, saying he was having difficulty breathing with his face mask on and needed some fresh air before collapsing on the courtroom floor.
Custody officers came to his aid and he was taken outside for some fresh air before he spent time recovering in the court foyer.
Mr Gattuso said Kinniff had become overwhelmed by the anxiety of his case and adjourned his hearing to give him time to get legal advice.
He will face court again next March.
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