A Sydney cop who broke into a convicted child sex offender’s outback home and stole $100,000 cash has been jailed for a maximum 10 years.
The NSW Police officer, whose identity has been protected by the courts, was hailed as a vigilante hero by locals on social media over the robbery of the 78-year-old paedophile.
The officer knew the man had cash in a safe from a 2020 search that led to him being charged and convicted of a child sex offence, and with a co-offender drove to the man’s home from Sydney on October 3, 2024, the Australian Associated Press reported.
The pair borrowed a car, filled jerry cans with fuel and left their mobile phones behind to avoid detection, and on arrival tied up the paedophile and threatened him with harm unless he handed over the keys to the safe.
On Friday he pleaded guilty to aggravated break and enter in the NSW District Court and was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment with a six-year non-parole period.
Judge Robert Newlinds condemned the officer for misusing his professional knowledge to commit the crime, and for the social media response to the robbery had on the child sex offender.
“Use of private information gathered by the process of search warrants for anything other than proper purposes connected to the administration of justice is entirely unacceptable and must be deplored,” Judge Newlinds said.
“I consider the consequences to the victim to be extraordinary and over and above what might be considered usual or expected.
“The victim had served his time for his crime and was entitled to be left alone to live his life without being bashed and robbed by a police officer involved in investigating his crime. Let alone, members of the public vilifying the victim and praising the offender.”
Judge Newlinds also described as “tenuous” the officer’s claims of a link between the crime and his PTSD from being exposed to horrific crimes and accidents during his work, but accepted he had shown some remorse, was previously of good character, and had an underlying mental health condition.
Header image credit: NSW Police.
