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Milton Orkopoulos used his place as a councilor and authorities minister to realize the belief of younger boys earlier than giving them medication and sexually abusing them, jurors have heard.
Throughout her closing tackle within the former Labor MP’s trial on Thursday, crown prosecutor Cate Dodds stated one sufferer had been enticed in by Orkopoulos’ claims he was a “highly effective mover and shaker”.
The boy says he was round 11 or 12 years previous when he first met Orkopoulos as a Lake Macquarie councilor who stated he may get a skate park for Swansea.
“Like a wolf in sheep’s clothes (Orkopoulous) has preyed on (this younger boy) who didn’t see the hazard till it was too late,” Ms Dodds stated in Downing Heart District Court docket.
The boy claims he met the now 65-year-old on 4 events the place he was sexually assaulted in Orkopoulos’ automotive and on a bush strolling monitor.
He says he didn’t inform anybody as a result of he was younger, scared and confused.
“I used to be solely a child. I did not see the seriousness of what was really occurring,” he instructed jurors earlier within the trial.
One boy from a house the place illicit drug use was widespread stated he suffered repeated sexual abuse by Orkopoulos however returned to him repeatedly due to a sense that splashing the money and medicines supplied was the one technique to make pals at college.
Orkopoulos has denied any wrongdoing, pleading not responsible to 28 fees, together with sexual offenses towards 4 underage boys he allegedly provided medication to over a decade, ending in 2003.
The previous state member for Swansea has additionally been accused of perverting the course of justice by asking one complainant to retract his allegations.
That man now says he was touched on the genitals after which watched bare within the bathe whereas on vacation at Seal Rocks a while between 1993 and 1995.
Ms Dodds stated Orkopoulos had used the identical sample of conduct together with his alleged victims, together with first initiating the grooming by asking whether or not they had smoked hashish and apologizing afterward when the sexual exercise obtained too tough or painful.
Orkopoulos was motivated by his sexual need for younger boys and acted on these needs opportunistically, the prosecutor stated.
He then would change into extra brazen after discovering out his victims’ silence was assured and moved onto tougher medication like heroin to groom the boys, the jury heard.
The Crown additionally depends on proof from three different complainants, together with one boy who alleged he was injected with heroin earlier than being sexually assaulted in Orkopoulos’ automotive, to indicate the previous MP had an inclination to behave in a specific means.
“The one rationalization for the diploma of similarity within the unbiased accounts is that they’re true accounts of what the accused did,” Ms Dodds instructed jurors.
His prior pleas of guilt to possessing baby abuse materials in 2006 and to supplying a 12 months 12 boy with medication in Parliament Home had been additionally related for the jury to contemplate, she stated.
Protection barrister Paul Johnson stated his shopper had admitted being a “extremely flawed particular person” who broke the regulation as a member of parliament together with by smoking hashish with younger boys.
He stated he had been in a secret gay relationship with one alleged complainant, however claimed this occurred when the person was round 18 years previous.
Mr Johnson accused three of the alleged victims, together with one who was in jail on the time, of solely coming ahead to the police in 2020 for monetary acquire.
“Is the prospect of receiving sufferer’s compensation such a weak or unlikely motivation for any of these three complainants?” Mr. Johnson questioned.
“They clearly wish to blame somebody for what occurred of their lives.”
He requested jurors to reject claims of conduct which might have been so seen that Orkopoulos couldn’t have carried it out for years with out being caught.
-AAP
