Former St Kilda and Melbourne star Carl Ditterich charged with child sexual offences

Legendary St Kilda and Melbourne hardman Carl Ditterich has been charged with a string of child sexual offences alleged to have occurred almost 40 years ago.

Carl Ditterich played more than 280 games for St Kilda and Melbourne.

Footy legend and AFL Hall of Famer Carl Ditterich has been charged with historic child sex offences.

The 78-year-old former St Kilda and Melbourne Football Club player is facing three counts of indecent assault and one count of gross indecency in the presence of a child under the age of 16.

It is alleged he assaulted a girl in Heatherton in Melbourne’s southeast in August 1985.

Ditterich – known during his playing days as the ‘Blonde Bombshell’ – was then in his early 40s, having retired from the game about five years earlier.

Ditterich in action for the Saints against Carlton’s Bruce Doull.

Disturbing details of Ditterich’s alleged offending were revealed in charge sheets issued by the court on Friday afternoon.

Police allege he digitally penetrated the girl’s vagina, made her touch his penis, touched her breasts and masturbated in front of her.

The charges were laid against the footy great by the Bayside sexual offences and child abuse investigation team (SOCIT) last Friday.

Ditterich, from Echuca, has hired renowned criminal defence lawyer Tony Hargreaves to represent him.

Mr Hargreaves fronted the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday where he submitted a medical certificate on behalf of Ditterich, who did not appear.

The certificate, by Bendigo Health, was submitted to explain his absence.

Carl Ditterich with Doug Hawkins during his AFL Hall of Fame induction. Picture: Cameron Tandy

AFL spokesperson Jay Allen said the league was on Friday “made aware of historical police charges” against Ditterich.

“As the matter is with police, the AFL is not in a position to make any comment at the present time,” he said.

Ditterich played 285 games for St Kilda and Melbourne between 1963 and 1980.

He was a feared ruckman known for his on-field aggression, which often landed him in trouble with the VFL tribunal.

He appeared before the tribunal 19 times and was suspended for a total of 30 games during his career, missing St Kilda’s only premiership in 1966.

Ditterich was inducted into the St Kilda Hall of Fame in 2003 and the AFL Hall of Fame in 2004.

The AFL removed Barry Cable from the Hall of Fame last year after a judge ruled that he repeatedly sexually abused a Perth girl at the height of his playing career.

Following his professional career, Ditterich went on to coach local football teams in Victoria’s northwest.

In 1999, he unsuccessfully stood as an independent candidate for the seat of Swan Hill in the Victorian state election.

A decade later, the Ditterich family was facing eviction from its century-old Swan Hill wheat farm over a contentious $600,000 water debt.

Lawyers for Goulburn-Murray Water threatened Supreme Court action to seize the family’s 400ha property.

A powerful team of supporters, including millionaire trucking magnate Lindsay Fox, stepped in to support the family, who claimed it had been taken advantage of by the water company.

Ditterich will return to court on June 28.