How top naval officer David Graham’s grubby past landed him in a Territory jail cell

When the vile secrets that top former naval officer David Graham carried with him for more than a decade came out, he went from being in charge of one of Her Majesty’s Australian Ships to being a guest of The Queen

David Graham (left) a top former naval officer, has been found guilty of a string of child sex offences. He is pictured being presented with the Conspicuous Service Cross. PICTURE: Royal Australian Navy/Supplied

WHEN David Graham stood proudly beside the then-Governor General Quentin Bryce in 2013 and accepted one of the Australian Navy’s highest honours, few could have guessed the dark secrets he held.

Years later, and thousands of kilometres away in the Northern Territory Supreme Court, the “exceptional” naval commander would be exposed as on grubby paedophile.

This week, as he was sentenced to five years jail, to be suspended after two years served, he sat in the dock with a thousand yard stare, suffering the indignity of lawyers comparing him to disgraced cardinal George Pell.

David Edward Lindsay Graham, 50, arrives at the Supreme Court for the first day of his trial.

Just like with Pell, Graham would go on to be given a lighter jail sentence because the loss of his career and the “public humiliation” of being exposed as a child sex creep was seen as a form of punishment in itself.

By the time Graham had quit the navy in the lead-up to his trial, he had served on board submarines based out of Perth, patrol boats based out of Darwin, as the commanding officer HMAS Choules, based out of Sydney and in an high-ranking desk job in Canberra.

Now, instead of being in charge of one of Her Hajesty’s Australian ships, Graham finds himself a guest of The Queen, housed with fellow child sex offenders at Holtze prison on Darwin’s outskirts.

As executive officer of the navy’s officer training college at Jervis Bay, Graham oversaw the training of hundreds of naval officers.

He told the local newspaper, the South Coast Register, that he was the “village sheriff” of the training college.

But when, pre-trial, Justice Graham Hiley lifted a blanket publicity ban on Graham’s case at the request of the NT News, the navy’s rumour mill went into overdrive.

Word was out beyond Graham’s inner circle that the former “village sheriff” was an alleged child sex crim.

Convicted child sex offender served a stint as Commanding officer of HMAS Choules (pictured)

The allegations — all but one of which a jury would accept as proven — were horrific.

Graham had indecently dealt with a young boy three times, and performed two acts of gross indecency on another, who he also plied with alcohol and tried to rape in a tent one terrifying night at a campsite outside Alice Springs.

Graham’s defence was a simple one: deny, deny, deny and then get as many people as possible to vouch for him, saying he just wasn’t the kind of person who would do these things.

One juror physically winced when retired Commodore Peter Scott described senior naval officers as belonging to a “brotherhood”.

David Graham’s official portrait, which the Navy removed from its website ahead of his trial

When Commander Brett Westcott, the second in charge of the navy’s flagship, HMAS Canberra, said Graham was trusted around his family, it seemed to made things look worse instead of better.

Graham’s defence was one which is less and less likely to succeed, as juries clue in to the fact that often it's the most trustworthy people who sexually abuse kids.

For the most part, “stranger danger” is a myth, and people know that kids are far more likely to be abused by a step-dad, and uncle, a teacher, a priest or a family friend.

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Each one of the Graham’s good character witnesses were hit with a broadside when, under cross-examination Crown Prosecutor Stephen Geary asked them whether the Graham they knew and trusted would give a teenage boy beer spiked with tequila, or have a young boy sleep in his bed.

David Graham couldn’t run from the truth

When Graham had earlier been in the witness box he had admitted to doing both, but denied all of the sex crimes he was accused of.

That too, wasn’t the kind of thing they expected their mate and brother to do.

Looking at the jurors faces, you could see the penny drop: there were two men in one opposite them in the dock, a warrior and a predator.

But there was more than one similarity to Pell.

Just like with Pell, there were two victims whose lives Graham tore apart.

And Just like Pell, Graham is now behind bars where he deserves to be.