‘Grooming stepson’s girlfriend wrong but prosecution a big call’

Hamish McLaren’s sexual relationship with stepson’s 17yo girlfriend not against the law.

Hamish McLaren, would go running with his stepson’s girlfriend, help with her schoolwork, offered her an ­internship working for him, and even promised to help her achieve her dream of studying at Harvard University.

Hamish McLaren’s sexual relationship with his stepson’s 17-year-old girlfriend was morally wrong, and a clear case of “grooming”, but probably not against the law, legal experts say.

The conman spent years getting close to Jane (not her real name), who was a regular guest of McLaren and his then wife Bec Rosen at their Blueys Beach home in NSW.

McLaren, now 49, would go running with Jane, help with her schoolwork, offered her an ­internship working for him, and even promised to help her achieve her dream of studying at Harvard University. He showered her with gifts, including a car, clothes and expensive haircuts, and eventually convinced her to have sex with him when she was 17.

McLaren infiltrated Jane’s life, conning her grandparents out of $1.1 million, which he was supposed to invest for them.

Jane, now 23, has shared her harrowing experience in the latest episode of The Australian’s chart-topping podcast series Who The Hell Is Hamish?

A full-length interview with Jane, who said the podcast was a way for her to win back her confidence, has been released on The Australian website for subscribers.

McLaren has pleaded guilty to 18 charges­ of fraud and will be sentenced­ on June 13. It has been alleged he stole $7m from at least 15 victims between 2011 and 2017.

While the legal age of consent in NSW is 16, the Crimes Act stipulates that it is illegal for a person to have sexual intercourse with a person aged 16 or 17 if they are in the “special care” of the elder person or their de facto partner.

But NSW lawyers with backgrounds in prosecution said it would be difficult to prove the ­relationship was illegal.

Kingston Fox Lawyers partner Erin Hoile said she did not believe the matter would face prosecution. “It would seem to me that if an allegation was made the police would need to show that (Ms Rosen) was the guardian or authorised carer of her (Jane),” Ms Hoile said. “Otherwise, it would seem to me, on the face of it, that it doesn’t apply, particularly if it (the sex) was consensual.”

A prominent Sydney lawyer said “special care” applied only in “very specific situations”.

“Historically, even de facto partners of people … there have been questions about whether they fit into that definition of step-parent,” the lawyer said.

Jane, who was experiencing hardships within her own family at the time she knew McLaren, said she felt “guilt and shame” after the relationship, particularly because she introduced McLaren to her grandparents.

“I was there all the time,” she said of her boyfriend’s house. “It was so nice being in a household where there was no stress. It was nice to feel part of the family.”

Jane said McLaren showed an interest in her studies and even told her he could alleviate her family’s financial stress, brought on by the ill health of Jane’s sister.

“I did what I did knowingly and consciously, but at 16, 17, I did not have the foresight and, particularly at the point in my life, I didn’t have the emotional capacity to handle a man like Hamish,” she said.

University of NSW law and criminology professor Anne Cossins said the legislation ­regarding special care usually ­related to teachers, coaches, health professionals or employers. “If the DPP was going to run this case, they would need an awful lot of evidence to show he had a father-like relationship with her,” she said. “I think it would be a high bar to prove.

“She clearly was exploited, she clearly was being groomed, but … she was at the age of consent. None of this was her fault. We so frequently blame the victim, but he (McLaren) was the instigator. He was the one who betrayed his stepson and wife. (Jane) was a very young, vulnerable person.”