Former Labor MP Will Fowles interviewed by police over sex assault allegations

Detectives arrested and interviewed former Labor MP Will Fowles earlier this month in a dramatic escalation in the police investigation into assault allegations against him.

Former Labor MP Will Fowles was arrested before he was released on October 12. Picture: James Ross

Axed Labor MP Will Fowles was arrested and interviewed by police earlier this month amid an ongoing sex crimes investigation.

Mr Fowles was interviewed on October 12, more than two months since allegations were first levelled against him.

The interview is a dramatic escalation in the police investigation which has been ongoing since the end of August. However he was released without charge.

The Herald Sun can reveal as part of the investigation, multiple MPs from the government and opposition have also been interviewed.

The Ringwood MP was accused of a “serious assault” of a colleague at a city hotel after drinking at the parliamentary members bar in August.

It prompted a two-day investigation by the Premier’s private office which led to a formal referral being made to Victoria Police.

Several weeks later detectives from the sexual crimes squad confirmed they were formally investigating the incident.

The axed Labor MP has been interviewed by police. Picture: Mark Stewart

It has now been revealed they attended his home earlier this month and arrested him.

“Detectives from the Sexual Crimes Squad executed a warrant at a Ringwood address on 12 October as part of an ongoing investigation into an incident in the Melbourne CBD,” police said.

“A 45-year-old Ringwood man was arrested at the property and interviewed by police. He was released without charge pending further inquiries.

“As the investigation is ongoing and given the sensitive nature of the matter, we will not be commenting further at this time.”

Mr Fowles, who has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, was forced to resign from the parliamentary Labor Party in early August due to the allegations.

He has refused to return to parliament until the investigation into the allegations is finalised.

“To be clear, I am not taking leave from my job. I’ll continue to work in my electorate and make representations on behalf of my constituents, whose many messages of support I have gratefully received,” he said last month.

Mr Fowles has publicly accused former Premier Daniel Andrews of orchestrating a political hit job.

The circumstances around the allegations have remained shrouded in secrecy, with even senior government staffers unclear of the detail.

Will Fowles was arrested and interviewed by police over the allegations early this month, before being released without charge. Picture: Michael Klein

A complaint was first lodged with the Premier’s office on Thursday, August 3.

Sources told the Herald Sun that the previous evening, in the hours before the alleged incident, Mr Fowles’ behaviour in the parliament bar “was super sleazy”, “rude” and “erratic”.

The alleged victim was seen with Mr Fowles for some of the evening.

It is understood they left the bar together before an incident at a city hotel.

In 2019 Mr Fowles was questioned by police after he flew into a rage and smashed in the bottom half of a door at a Canberra hotel.

The MP said at the time that he had been dealing with “addiction and other mental health issues”.

He later told the Herald Sun he had privately been battling mental health issues for 15 years, which included self medicating.

But his life spiralled out of control after being elected to the Andrews government in November 2018.

“Many of my colleagues have worked in professional politics before becoming a parliamentarian, I haven’t and there was much that was new to me and I haven’t coped particularly well with elements of that,” he said at the time.

“There was a pattern of behaviour where clearly there were some problems.”

Not realising the extent of his issues Mr Fowles’ world came crashing down during the now infamous violent outburst at the Canberra hotel.