Ex-MP Milton Orkopoulos found guilty of sexually abusing boys

Former MP Milton Orkopoulos has been found guilty of sexually abusing four boys during his time as a local councillor and state MP.

Disgraced former MP and twice-convicted pedophile Milton Orkopoulos is facing the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison after he was found guilty of sexually abusing four boys.

Once a powerful member of the Labor Party, Orkopoulos, 65, hung his head and closed his eyes as a jury of seven men and five women on Wednesday took less than a day to deliver an emphatic verdict.

Following a District Court trial, the former minister for Aboriginal affairs was found guilty of 26 of 28 charges, including sexually abusing four young boys in the Lake Macquarie region and on NSW’s Mid North Coast from 1993 to 2003.

In the witness box, Orkopoulos issued emphatic denials, describing the allegations made against him by four men as “fanciful”, “outrageously wrong” and a “lie”.

However, the jury accepted Crown prosecutor Cate Dodds’ argument that he was a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” who used his position in the community and drugs to groom his young victims before abusing them.

Orkopoulos was in 2008 jailed for similar charges after he was found guilty of abusing three other boys.

And at 65 years old, he now faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison.

Milton Orkopoulos was found guilty of sexually abusing four boys. Picture: Damian Shaw

The former member for Swansea pleaded not guilty to 28 charges and fought the allegations at trial.

But one by one on Wednesday afternoon in Sydney’s Downing Centre, the jury foreperson read out “guilty” for 26 of the charges consisting of 11 counts of intercourse with a child, six counts of indecent assault, two counts of an act of indecency and seven counts of supplying a prohibited drug.

He was also found not guilty of lone counts of supplying a prohibited drug and perverting the course of justice.

He was found guilty of charges of sexual intercourse with a child relating to three boys and indecently assaulting the other.

All four of his victims, who cannot be named or identified, gave evidence before Judge Jane Culver over the course of the trial, with the jury accepting their evidence over Orkopoulos.

The charges related to Orkopoulos’ time as a local councillor and state MP. Picture: Ron Hutchings.

One man told the court that Mr Orkopoulos grabbed him by the penis and testicles while in the shower during an incident on the Mid North Coast.

The man told the court that the former ALP MP had ordered him to strip off as they stood together inside a bathroom.

The man told the court that Mr Orkopoulos remarked to him that he was a “little boy” who had a “little pecker” and that he was about 10-years-old at the time.

He told the jury that he continued to shower as Mr Orkopoulos sat down and rubbed his penis as he watched.

Orkopoulos was found guilty of indecent assault and an act of indecency relating to the incident.

He was also found not guilty of perverting the court of justice, relating to an allegation he had forced the boy to sign a statement retracting the allegations at a meeting at the house of Jill Hall, who was Orkopoulos’ predecessor as the member for Swansea.

As well, Orkopoulos was found not guilty of supplying the same boys with cannabis on the same evening.

Another man told the court that he was supplied with drugs and sexually assaulted by Orkopoulos after being introduced to the then state MP when he started getting into trouble at school.

One victim gave evidence during the trial that he was sexually assaulted by Orkopoulos after meeting with him about proposals to build a skatepark in the area.

A fourth victim told the court that he was sexually assaulted by Orkopoulos, who was then the member for Swansea, inside his electorate office and given money and drugs.

Milton Orkopoulos is now facing spending the rest of his life in jail. Picture: Supplied.

Detective Sergeant Kristi Faber investigated the case. Picture: Ryan Osland/The Australian.

The jury was also read the testimony of three men who gave evidence during Orkopoulos’ previous trial.

Orkopoulos was in 2008 jailed for 13 years and eight months.

He was found guilty of 28 charges, including eight counts of homosexual intercourse with a minor and 13 counts of supplying cannabis, relating to three then teenage boys.

He was released on parole in December 2019 after serving 11-and-a-half years.

However, he returned to custody three months later after being arrested for breaching his parole conditions.

While in custody, he was charged with further offences for which he has now been found guilty.

During the trial, the court heard that when Mr Orkopoulos was arrested in 2006, police found written child abuse material under a mattress inside his Redfern flat.

Under cross-examination, Orkopoulos said he used it as “bedside reading” and a sexual aid.

He admitted he was “struggling” with his sexual interest in children at the time.

“One story may make an interest but it doesn’t make a career,” Orkopoulos said during his testimony.

Over the course of the trial, the jury was told that the boys’ lives had spiralled out of control after being abused by Orkopoulos and some ended up in jail.

Outside court, Detective Sergeant Kristi Faber, the officer in charge of the investigation, thanked the victims for their bravery in coming forward.

“This verdict is the result of four very brave individuals coming to police,” Sergeant Faber told NCA NewsWire.

“Their level of bravery has been shown the last few weeks.

“It’s extremely difficult for any individual to come forward and have to tell police and the courtroom things that they’ve tried to hide their entire life because they felt ashamed.

“To overcome that and be so brave is amazing.”

Orkopoulos will return to court on April 12 when a date will be set for sentencing proceedings.