Bill Vlahos claims his human rights were violated in pysch assessment
Racing fraud Bill Vlahos has claimed a court-ordered psychological assessment he underwent while on remand was “a breach of his privacy and inhumane treatment”.
Police & Courts
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Racing fraud Bill Vlahos has claimed his human rights have been violated during a court-ordered psychological assessment.
Vlahos appeared via video link from prison in the County Court on Tuesday where it was revealed he had issued a charter notice to the Attorney-General Jill Hennessy and the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission.
The move will delay the racing identity being sentenced over conning $17.5 million from 71 victims of his The Edge punting club scam.
The court heard Vlahos was claiming an assessment done on him while on remand on February 25 was “a breach of his privacy and inhumane treatment”.
County Court judge Douglas Trapnell stands to sentence Vlahos and had requested a psychological assessment and report be conducted.
A pre-sentence hearing was to be held for all parties to make submissions once the report was complete before Judge Trapnell would then impose punishment on Vlahos.
Judge Trapnell, on Tuesday, said Vlahos’s case had “gone on the backburner due to COVID”.
But he said the charter notice must be dealt with expeditiously.
“The charter issue must be determined before we proceed any further with this plea hearing,” he said.
Justin Wheelahan, for Vlahos, said his client had raised issues around “breach of privacy and dignity”, but did not elaborate as to how Vlahos claimed his rights were breached.
“We’re anxious that the matter not be fragmented or delayed,” Mr Wheelahan said, adding that Vlahos’s funding for legal representation had “reached the end of the line”.
Judge Trapnell ordered the parties return before him on October 15 when Vlahos and the psychologist behind the assessment could be cross-examined on the charter issue.
He said Ms Hennessy had notified the court she was “not interested in intervening”.
But he was yet to hear back from the commission if they wished to make submissions.
Vlahos, who had become a leading figure in racing through his company BC3 Thoroughbreds, has been behind bars since February when he pleaded guilty to two rolled-up charges of obtaining financial advantage by deception.
He was initially facing more than 300 offences for his offending which spanned between 2008 and 2013 but struck a stunning plea deal with the prosecution.
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