Brisbane theatre boss allegedly took naked photos of young boys

A former reality star claims she was told a prominent Brisbane theatre boss was allegedly involved in distributing images of boys via MSN Messenger, a court has heard.

 

A former reality TV star claims she was told a prominent Brisbane theatre boss was involved in distributing images of boys via MSN Messenger, a court has heard.

Later clarifying that she did not know if the images involved children, former Voice contestant Naomi Price said the person who told her was of the strong opinion that Timothy Noel O’Connor was the owner of the MSN account.

O’Connor, 43, faced a committal hearing on Monday on 59 charges including fraud and child and adult sexual offences.

Ms Price, who worked at the now-defunct Harvest Rain theatre in various roles, gave evidence on the first day of the hearing in Brisbane Magistrates Court.

Top Queensland silk Ruth O’Gorman, KC, representing O’Connor, cross-examined Ms Price about the first time someone said something to her about her client’s alleged conduct.

“I would imagine that it pertains to distributing images of boys that were training at Harvest Rain via MSN Messenger,” she said.

Timothy O'Connor. Picture: John Gass

“I recall (the person) telling me that there was a MSN Messenger account that had been asking for nude photos.”

Ms O’Gorman asked if that was all she could recall of the conversation.

“My recollection was he was of the strong opinion that Tim was the owner of that account,” Ms Price said.

“Why did he hold that opinion?” Ms O’Gorman asked.

“I can’t recall,” Ms Price said.

“So you can’t recall that he gave you any details to support his opinion that it was Tim holding an account,” Ms O’Gorman pressed.

“No, I can’t recall right now,” Ms Price responded.

Ms O’Gorman queried why Ms Price hadn’t reported this to police given she was responsible for children at the theatre.

“The person that he was telling me about was my friend and my boss,” Ms Price said.

Timothy O'Connor, former Harvest Rain director leaves Brisbane Magistrates Court. Picture: John Gass

O’Connor was the former CEO of Harvest Rain which billed itself as the world’s largest not-for-profit youth arts organisation.

Ms Price said there was a “ a complicated dynamic of professional and personal relationships that” made reporting the alleged behaviour difficult. She also said the thought of going to police did not cross her mind at the time.

“I’m not aware of what the contents were of those photos, and I’m not aware of them being of children, or that any of that behaviour was particularly putting children at risk,” she said.

Later Ms Price did speak to the police on two occasions, in 2011 and again in 2022.

The court heard a number of people made disclosures to Ms Price, an award-winning theatre personality, about O’Connor’s alleged behaviour.

One told her about an alleged incident where he removed his clothes and underwear at a photo shoot, she said.

Ms Price told a board member that O’Connor “had taken naked photos of at least three young people,” the court heard.

Ms Price said she did not know if any of them were under 16 at the time.

The court heard seven complainants would be giving evidence during the two day hearing along with three police officers and another civilian witness.

The crown tendered 80 witness statements.

Ms O’Gorman said it was unlikely there would be any submissions on the non committal of charges at the end of the hearing on Tuesday.

O’Connor, who is facing 41 counts of indecent treatment of children under 16, nine counts of sexual assault, five counts of fraud, three counts of common assault and one count of observations or recordings in breach of privacy, declined to comment outside court.

Originally published as Brisbane theatre boss allegedly took naked photos of young boys