Labor candidate Jamie Scicluna accused of branding Greens rival a paedophile on social media

A UNION organiser, law student and local ALP candidate is being sued for allegedly smearing his rival Greens candidate as a “paedophile” on social media.

ACTU organiser and ALP Wyndham council candidate Jamie Scicluna

A LABOR candidate in last year’s Wyndham City Council elections has been accused of branding a rival Greens candidate a “paedophile” on social media.

Law student, Australian Council of Trade Unions organiser and “proud ALP hack” Jamie Scicluna, is being sued for defamation by Bro Sheffield-Brotherton.

Mr Sheffield-Brotherton, who also stood for the Greens in the 2014 State election, alleges Mr Scicluna refused repeated requests to apologise and refrain from repeating the alleged paedophile claims despite knowing them to be false.

Mr Scicluna denied he called his rival a paedophile but admitted to the Herald Sun that he had raised the allegation in an attempt to clarify whether such claims made elsewhere on social media were true.

Jamie Scicluna

Bro Sheffield-Brotherton.

“I’m not denying those posts but I deny that I called him a paedophile and I deny what I said was defamation,” he said.

Mr Scicluna said his posts were part of a “tit for tat” exchange after Mr Sheffield-Brotherton allegedly accused him of being a dummy candidate who was paid to run for council.

In two foul-mouthed exchanges on two Facebook group sites last November the former mechanic is alleged to have defamed Mr Sheffield-Brotherton by suggesting he was a paedophile or that there were reasonable grounds to suggest he was a paedophile and that he should be investigated.

In the first exchange, which was visible to some 2000 members of the Wyndham Residents United Group, Mr Sheffield-Brotherton suggests his rival is an “unrealising laughing stock” to which Mr Scicluna responds: “ ... I’d rather be the laughing stock than the alleged pedo, hey bro?”

“… Sh.t ya wanna play dirty let’s play … You … are a bitter vindictive old man, and you’re an accused sex offender.”

The second alleged post, to the Wyndham’s Council Elections Group Facebook group which has more than 200 members, says: “We’ll (sic) allegations of paedophilia would put being a fit and proper person into question for Bro. Wouldn’t it?”

“That is why it should be investigated. Imagine if he had gotten elected and it turned out in fact he was guilty of it”.

A poster for Greens candidate Bro Sheffield-Brotherton.

Mr Scicluna is also alleged to have said there are “no rules here” and that those who believe he had gone too far should “grow a set”.

Mr Sheffield-Brotherton claims he has been held up to hatred, ridicule and contempt and suffered injury to his feelings and reputation, causing loss and damage.

He is seeking aggravated damages, claiming the posts were vindictively designed to inflict the maximum damage to his standing in a community in which he is actively involved, and a permanent injunction restraining Mr Scicluna from publishing similar claims in the future.

In the Facebook exchanges Mr Sheffield-Brotherton’s wife accused Mr Scicluna of repeating an unsourced claim from a fake Facebook account.

He allegedly replied: “If the account that made it was a fake, then it’s absolutely disgusting, but on the off-chance there’s some truth to the allegation, it is probably best he should be investigated.

“I have never alleged him to be a paedophile, however in our previous tit for tat, I did raise the issue that he was an alleged sex offender after he raised allegations of my campaign being bought.

“The point being is that he has been accused as a paedophile, that makes him an alleged paedophile until he proves otherwise.”