Detective cleared of all charges in Laidley photo leak scandal

A Victoria Police detective accused of misconduct over leaking photos of former AFL coach Dani Laidley in custody has been acquitted on all charges.

AN award-winning Victoria Police detective accused of misconduct over leaking photos of former AFL coach Dani Laidley in custody has been acquitted on all charges. Detective Senior Constable Murray Gentner walked free from Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday after he was found not guilty of misconduct by a public official, and accessing and disclosing police information without reasonable excuse.

Dani Laidley.

Magistrate Samantha Poulter ruled the prosecution had failed to establish sufficient evidence to find the five charges proven.

“The disclosure did not impede crime prevention, detection, pursuit of offenders or the like,” Ms Poulter said.

“On that basis, I find that the prosecution has not established a legal duty existed not to disclose the information.”

She also ordered the Police Chief Commissioner pay Constable Gentner’s legal costs.

It comes after the prosecution was earlier forced to drop a sixth charge alleging Constable Gentner took a photo of a “mugshot” on a computer police database before sharing it. The officer, who was named 2012 Detective of the Year, pleaded not guilty to all charges.

He claimed he did not misuse the police database and got the image and information from the internet once it had gone viral. Constable Gentner, 43, said he regretted sharing it but was not in breach of his police duties.

He had been charged alongside two other officers – Senior Constable Shane Reid and Constable David Hall – following an internal investigation into how photos became public following Laidley’s arrest in St Kilda on May 2 last year.

Detective Senior Constable Murray Gentner. Picture: AAP

One photo – allegedly taken by Constable Reid – showed Laidley wearing a dress, blonde wig and make up while in an interview room at St Kilda police station.

The court heard Constable Reid shared the photo in a WhatsApp group with eight other officers called the “SD1 Gentleman’s Club”, which included Constable Gentner.

Constable Gentner also shared the mugshot photo in the group, writing: “Laidley remanded overnight. Now a full-blown ice head and tranny.”

When friend and former cop Matthew Thorpe texted him asking about the case, Constable Gentner revealed how the former Kangaroos coach had been stalking an ex and was “now a tranny!”, “cooked” and “on the ice bad”.

Constables Gentner, Reid and Hall were charged and 39 other officers and seven public servants faced internal disciplinary action.

Laidley, 54, later pleaded guilty to stalking and was placed on an 18-month good behaviour bond.

She has also launched a civil lawsuit in the Supreme Court over the leaked photo, claiming the officers acted with malice and exposed her to humiliation and ridicule.