Obese paedophile teacher Peter John O’Neill will not be jailed

A paedophile who molested young boys while he was a schoolteacher in Tasmania during the 1980s will escape a prison sentence for his crimes. FIND OUT WHY + READ THE CHILLING VICTIM STATEMENT >>

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A MORBIDLY obese paedophile who molested young boys while teaching at Dominic College, Burnie High School and St Virgil’s College during the 1980s will not go to jail for his crimes.

Peter John O’Neill, 61, has pleaded guilty to six counts of indecent assault and one count of penetrative sexual abuse of a young person relating to six children.

But in a unique turn of events, O’Neill – who is wheelchair-bound and now lives in Canberra – will not be locked up at Risdon Prison despite confessing to the serious child sex crimes because he’s medically unfit to travel to Tasmania.

On Friday, the paedophile attended the Supreme Court of Tasmania via phone link after plans to extradite him fell flat given the enormous costs of medical transport by air and the inability to cart him to Hobart via land and sea due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Defence barrister Greg Barns said it would have cost between $25,000 to $40,000 to charter an aircraft to transport O’Neill – who suffers severe degeneration of the lumbar spine, spinal stenosis, chronic pain and difficulty breathing due to morbid obesity – to Hobart.

He said the child sex offender had a full-time, NDIS-funded carer, couldn’t even shower or use a toilet independently, was unable to leave his home, had recently fallen and fractured his ribs, and was likely suffering “psychotic depression” with auditory hallucinations.

“Normally there would be no question that Mr O’Neill would face a term of actual imprisonment,” Mr Barns said.

“A term of imprisonment must be imposed, but in the circumstances … the sentence would have to be suspended.”

One of O’Neill’s victims read a statement in court on Friday, detailing how the “fear and shame” of what had happened to him “was always going to be lurking”.

“What had happened to me as a child meant I’m not a whole person,” he told the court.

“As a survivor of abuse, I have to acknowledge that I’ve lost a lot.

“I quickly stopped believing in God and I stopped trusting authority.”

Crown prosecutor Madeleine Wilson said the victims lodged complaints with Tasmania Police 2013 and 2017, but that court proceedings had been delayed due to O’Neill’s medical conditions and his inability to travel to Tasmania.

Chief Justice Alan Blow said he was limited to imposing a wholly-suspended jail sentence given O’Neill could not be locked up interstate for the Tasmanian crimes, didn’t have money to pay a fine, couldn’t undergo a community correction order due to his health and couldn’t be placed under home detention because he was unable to leave his home anyway.

He will sentence O’Neill on August 25.

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