- Hinch faces jail for naming sex offender
- The Age
- 03/10/2008 Make a Comment
- Contributed by: The Rooster ( 264 articles in 2008 )
Media identity Derryn Hinch faces jail for the second time after leaking the names of two convicted sex offenders at a public rally and publishing their names on a website in breach of court orders.
Six months ago the controversial 3AW radio broadcaster launched a campaign to overturn a Victorian law that suppresses the names of sex offenders after their release from jail.
A petition on the internet called Name Them and Shame Them circulated by Hinch was signed by 7,000 listeners from Australia and overseas.
Hinch Friday confirmed in a statement on the 3AW website that he would be served with a summons to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on five criminal charges for contempt of court.
"I said at the time: murderers don't get their names suppressed when they complete their sentence and leave jail. Why should rapists of women and children?" he wrote.
"I know I was morally right. Whether or not I was legally right is for the courts to decide."
If convicted, Hinch faces fines in excess of $12,000 on each charge and up to 12 months in jail.
"I have done what I believe I had to do. The court will now do its job. As it should. And it will," he wrote.
Hinch spent 12 days behind bars in the late 1980s for revealing the past convictions of a pedophile priest on air.
© 2008 AAP
Six months ago the controversial 3AW radio broadcaster launched a campaign to overturn a Victorian law that suppresses the names of sex offenders after their release from jail.
A petition on the internet called Name Them and Shame Them circulated by Hinch was signed by 7,000 listeners from Australia and overseas.
Hinch Friday confirmed in a statement on the 3AW website that he would be served with a summons to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on five criminal charges for contempt of court.
"I said at the time: murderers don't get their names suppressed when they complete their sentence and leave jail. Why should rapists of women and children?" he wrote.
"I know I was morally right. Whether or not I was legally right is for the courts to decide."
If convicted, Hinch faces fines in excess of $12,000 on each charge and up to 12 months in jail.
"I have done what I believe I had to do. The court will now do its job. As it should. And it will," he wrote.
Hinch spent 12 days behind bars in the late 1980s for revealing the past convictions of a pedophile priest on air.
© 2008 AAP
Source: https://news.theage.com.au/national/hinch-faces-jail-for-naming-sex-offender-20081003-4te7.html
1Will not be visible to public.
2Receive notification of other comments posted for this article. To cease notification after having posted click here.
3To make a link clickable in the comments box enclose in link tags - ie.<link>Link</link>.
4To show an image enclose the image URL in tags - ie.<image>https://fredspage.com/box.jpg</image>. Note: image may be resized if too large
To further have your say, head to our forum Click Here
To contribute a news article Click Here
To view or contribute a Quote Click Here