SA magistrate Simon Milazzo fired after judicial panel finds he sexually harassed four women and has shown no genuine remorse

An Adelaide magistrate has been fired for sexually harassing four women over a number of years – and a judicial panel says he has shown no remorse.

An Adelaide magistrate has been fired after a panel concluded he engaged in inappropriate and sexual misconduct toward four female subordinates while in office and showed no “genuine remorse” for his actions.

On Thursday, Simon Milazzo was formally removed from office by order of the Governor, on the advice of the state government, following a Judicial Conduct Panel investigation.

Announcing the decision, Attorney-General Kyam Maher praised the courage of the women who spoke out about Mr Milazzo’s behaviour.

He said the panel had concluded Mr Milazzo, 68, engaged in inappropriate conduct, with sexual connotations, in relation to each of the four women over a number of years.

Each victim, he said, was “a subordinate” to Mr Milazzo, and the sexualised conduct occurred either at work or during work-related events.

Mr Maher said the panel had concluded Mr Milazzo’s behaviour was of “precisely” the sort that would undermine the public’s faith in the judicial system.

Former magistrate Simon Milazzo.

In its report, the panel said removal was the only choice because, while education and treatment “may assist” in correcting the behaviour, the outlook was “not good”.

“This is because the Magistrate himself has not expressed any genuine remorse in respect of the three most serious allegations and has in effect denied outright any improper conduct in the form of sexual harassment in relation to either of those witnesses,” it said.

In April 2021, an Equal Opportunity Commission report found sexual harassment in the state’s legal circles went “all the way to the top”.

It included allegations a sitting member of the SA bench had engaged in such behaviour – three months later, Mr Milazzo was stood down pending investigation.

In its report, the Judicial Conduct Panel – comprised of former judges Trish Kelly and David Bleby, and Dr Chris Moy – outline the complaints against Mr Milazzo.

They include Mr Milazzo inviting a gay staffer to his home, pointing out an “anatomically correct” statue in his garden and saying “you have a vagina, it was designed for a penis”.

Mr Milazzo has been removed from office. Picture: Campbell Brodie

It heard he said “if I were one or two years younger, I’d definitely want to have a crack” at another staffer and questioned her relationship with her partner.

Mr Milazzo, it heard, later stood behind that same woman and whispered into her ear “I know what you did on the weekend, confess your sins to me”.

The panel also heard Mr Milazzo had sat on a woman’s knee and thigh then touched her neck “as if to massage it”, and commented about another woman’s breasts.

He “raised his voice and became upset”, it heard, when another staffer declined to come to his home while he was recovering from a cycling accident.

On another occasion, it heard, he responded to a staffer’s complaints of being cold by saying “let me warm you up” and placing his hands “within a millimetre of her breasts”.

The panel said Mr Milazzo was appointed to the bench in 2006, five years after he was diagnosed with depression.

It said witnesses “unanimously” viewed him as “fair and conscientious”, but also remembered him making “inappropriate comments” that left them “uncomfortable”.

The witnesses said he had “a reputation for being a joker” but that his behaviour was “borderline unprofessional” and “not necessarily strictly politically correct”.

The panel accepted the “abundant evidence” of Mr Milazzo’s “unintentionally inappropriate behaviour”, but said he also showed a “recurring failure” to change his ways.

It said the women felt “uncomfortable, guilty and sick” due to Mr Milazzo, who they dubbed “creepy and inappropriate”, and accepted their evidence.

Mr Milazzo’s diagnosed autism spectrum disorder did not, the panel ruled, mitigate his inappropriate conduct.

It also accepted expert evidence, called by Mr Milazzo during the hearing, that he has autism spectrum disorder, but said that could not mitigate his conduct.

“The magistrate has demonstrated limited insight into the inappropriateness of his behaviour,” it said.

“His denial of the most damning aspects of (the women’s) evidence amounts to a denial that he engaged in any inappropriate conduct with sexual connotations in relation to (them).”

In a statement, the state’s chief magistrate, Judge Mary-Louise Hribal, acknowledged “the strength and courage of the victims”.

“I am very sorry that they have been harmed by the conduct of a magistrate of this court,” she said.

“Whilst I have not yet met with all of the victims, I would like to listen to, and learn from, what they have to say if they wish to speak with me.”

She said judicial officers were not above the law but must be “beyond reproach”, and that power imbalances “must be guarded against.”

Supreme Court Chief Justice Chris Kourakis echoed those sentiments.

“Bullying, harassment, discrimination or victimisation of any kind cannot be tolerated,” he said.

Equal Opportunity Commissioner Jodeen Carney said the panel’s report sent “a strong message to perpetrators”.

“It makes it clear that regardless of who you are, or what position you hold, sexual harassment is unlawful, unacceptable and consequences will flow,” she said.

Originally published as SA magistrate Simon Milazzo fired after judicial panel finds he sexually harassed four women and has shown no genuine remorse