Worker who stole $1.2m from employer to buy 'nice things' jailed for more than six years

By Joanna Menagh, ABC News

Lynette Alison Corrie

A Perth office worker who has been jailed for stealing $1.2 million from two small businesses, one of which subsequently went into administration, said she took the money because she "liked to go out shopping, have coffee with friends and have nice things".

Lynette Alison Corrie, 56, pleaded guilty in WA's District Court to 32 stealing as a servant offences, committed while she was employed as an administration manager at the businesses between November 2009 and June 2017.

The court was told she carried out 389 separate transactions over seven and a half years, transferring money from the businesses' bank accounts into an account she held jointly with her husband.

She stole a total of $1.218 million which Judge Linda Petrusa said equated to Corrie paying herself an extra $160,000 a year tax free, on top of her $40,000 annual salary.

The court heard Corrie started taking money from the first business, a family-run hardware wholesaler, about a month after commencing work, and continued stealing even after the company went into voluntary administration because of cash flow problems.

Corrie asked for a reference from the first company before starting work with a plumbing and electrical company, where she started stealing again just nine days later.

Judge Petrusa said the impact of Corrie's offences had been "catastrophic" for the owners of the businesses, saying it had affected their self confidence and their ability to trust people.

When her offences came to light, she was confronted by one of the owners of the business and asked why she did it.

The court heard she replied "life", but when pressed further told him that she liked, "to go out shopping, have coffee with friends and have nice things".

Lawyer bewildered by lack of motive

Defence lawyer Tom Percy QC described the case as "bewildering", saying Corrie had no drug, alcohol, gambling nor financial problems, and seemed to have committed the offences simply to live comfortably.

He said there were no extravagant trips or expensive jewellery involved and Corrie appeared to have spent the money on "everyday expenses, paying bills and shopping".

"At the end of the day she has very little to show for it," he said.

Judge Petrusa sentenced Corrie to a jail term of six years and two months, describing the offences as very serious.

"Clearly you have enjoyed a lifestyle well above and beyond what your income could sustain," she said.

"Having access to that much extra money must have enhanced your lifestyle."

Corrie had 'front-row seat' to witness company's decline

Judge Petrusa said the two businesses were vulnerable and Corrie had breached the trust the owners had placed in her.

She said she had no doubt Corrie's theft from her first employer, "made a significant contribution to the failure of the business", telling her she had "a front-row seat" to watch the decline of the company and the effect it had on the family owners and the other employees, some of whom had lost their jobs.

She described the extent of Corrie's betrayal as enormous.

Corrie will have to serve just over four years of her six-year-and-two-month sentence before she can be released on parole.

The court heard she has repaid $325,000 of the $520,000 she stole from the second company and on Thursday the judge ordered that she compensate the first company for the $698,000 she stole from it.

Paedophile Andrew Thomas Philips taken to hospital after being sentenced over 'vile, shocking' crimes

By court reporter Rebecca Opie, ABC News

A paedophile has been wheeled out of the court room and taken to hospital after being sentenced to 14 years in prison over seven child sex offences.  

Andrew Thomas Phillips 53 pleased guilty in the Adelaide District Court to committing seven child sex offences over the past three years, including gross indecency and maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship with a child. 

The offending was against three boys in separate incidents.

During the sentencing, Judge Geraldine Davison had to stop several times as Philips coughed, heaved and was removed from the dock to vomit.

After he was sentenced to 14 years in prison and taken into custody, he was wheeled out of court on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance.

Philips caught after incident at Murray Bridge

The court heard Philips was arrested after he approached an 11-year-old boy who was riding his bike in Murray Bridge.

Philips offered the boy $50 to expose himself, but he refused and told his father who found Philips in the street and called police.

Officers searched his van, which was parked nearby, and found devices which contained hundreds of images of children being sexually abused — some of which were sadistic in nature.

Judge Davison said police also found footage Philips had filmed of himself sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy.

"It is difficult to imagine the shock of the parents of this child when the police attended at their home to tell them that their child was the subject of what turned out to be horrendous sexual abuse," she said.

"This offending is made more graphic by the fact that you videoed your sexual encounters with this child and saved them on your computer under his name.

"You later disseminated material in relation to him to other paedophiles."

Philips introduced himself to one of his victim's parents, court hears

The court heard Philips started chatting to the boy online under a fake name and later approached him while he was walking home from school.

He lied about his age and claimed to be 30 before he offered him an orange fizzy drink and sexually assaulted him inside his van.

The court heard on two occasions he snuck into the boy's home in the middle of the night and continued the abuse in his bedroom while his parents were asleep.

The court heard before he started the prolonged abuse, Philips knocked on the door of the boy's house and introduced himself to his mother.

He gave her a business card for his maintenance and repairs business to check that the boy was not setting him up.

"Your interference and manipulation of this child is graphic, vile and plainly shocking," Judge Davison said.

In a victim impact statement, the boy's father said they were a normal happy family before police informed them about Philip's "evil actions".

"They characterize your actions as disgusting, vile and as actions of a man overpowering a child," Judge Davison said.

Philips was ordered to serve a non-parole period of 11 years and three months.

Spectre of Malcolm Turnbull haunts Wentworth by-election

By Sam Clench @SamClench News.com.au

MALCOLM Turnbull might be gone, but he is far from forgotten.

The former prime minister has been conspicuously quiet in the lead-up to today’s Wentworth by-election, which will determine who fills his vacated seat in parliament.

He has reportedly refused increasingly desperate pleas for help from senior members of the government, including Prime Minister Scott Morrison, arguing his intervention in the campaign would be a distraction that would hurt Liberal candidate Dave Sharma.

The cruel truth is, he is a distraction anyway.

The spectre of Mr Turnbull, and what his party did to get rid of him, is haunting the government endlessly as it struggles to defend its one-seat majority in parliament.

Should independent Kerryn Phelps beat Mr Sharma, Mr Morrison will be forced to rely on support from the crossbench to stay in power.

And as Wentworth votes today, her chances look good. Internal Liberal Party polling leaked to the media this week showed Dr Phelps with a commanding 55-45 lead. Yesterday Liberal sources told Fairfax Media they needed a “miracle” to hold on to the seat.

There may well be an element of strategy involved. By creating the impression Mr Sharma is an underdog, they undoubtedly hope to drive more Liberal voters to the polls.

But a nightmarish week has given Dr Phelps plenty of very real momentum.

Dave Sharma and Kerryn Phelps

 It all started with the government supporting Pauline Hanson’s “It’s OK to be white” motion in the Senate, which left it scrambling to deny accusations of racism.

The Coalition backflipped and claimed an “administrative process failure” had led it to vote in favour of the motion by mistake, but the damage was already done, as Labor and the Greens accused it of endorsing “the words used by white supremacists and neo-Nazis”.

RELATED: The sinister origins of ‘It’s OK to be white’

Then, later in the week, an ugly email was circulated to voters in Wentworth falsely claiming Dr Phelps had pulled out of the race because she had HIV.

“It’s just vile and despicable, and I was shocked and appalled. Not just for the dishonesty and the smears involved but for the stigma put around people with HIV,” Mr Sharma said of the email.

There was no suggestion he or the Liberal Party had been involved in its distribution.

Defeat in Wentworth would represent a disastrous humiliation for the government, given it is supposed to be the safest of safe seats. Mr Turnbull held it with a two-party majority of almost 18 per cent.

Dr Phelps has ruthlessly capitalised on voters’ anger over the former PM’s knifing, repeatedly hammering the Liberals on that point.

“A prime minister in the middle of his term was removed from office for no rational reason,” has been one of her more frequent lines.

Meanwhile, the Liberals are trying to run on a platform of stability, which is ironic at best and a monumental blunder at worst, given the by-election is only happening because their instability brought Mr Turnbull down.

“This is a very important by-election. The lead independent candidate Kerryn Phelps on multiple occasions couldn’t even say she’d support a confidence motion. That can throw the entire government into a lot of uncertainty,” Mr Morrison told Channel 7 yesterday.

“I know there has been a lot of instability and uncertainty but voting for an independent will only make that worse.”

RELATED: Kerryn Phelps could bring down the government

The government is clearly painfully aware of the harm its own leadership dramas have done to its chances. It is publicly admitting as much.

“I understand you’re angry. I was there when it was happening, supporting the then-prime minister when they were seeking to take him down. What I’m telling you is this candidate for Wentworth will be as good as the last one. He’s the same calibre,” Mr Morrison said.

Former prime minister John Howard, who was brought in to campaign alongside Mr Sharma late in the week, struck a similar note.

“I want to say to any normal Liberal voters in Wentworth who may be a bit grumpy at the present time, who may feel a bit disillusioned, you cannot risk a protest vote,” Mr Howard said.

“A lot of people here are sad that (Mr Turnbull) is no longer the member and prime minister, but others will take a view projecting forward. They’ll say we’re unhappy about that, but we’re a lot more unhappy about the thought of a Shorten government.”

Nationals MP Darren Chester wasn’t quite so optimistic.

“I think we’re about to get a real-life opinion poll on what Australians think of political parties that undermine their leaders and change leaders midstream,” he told ABC radio.

Mr Turnbull’s near silence — he has sent just one tweet in support of Mr Sharma, back when he first became the Liberals’ candidate — has not been matched by his son, Alex Turnbull.

Turnbull junior, 36, has been publicly urging voters in Wentworth to send the Liberal Party a message by voting against it.

Speaking to Triple J radio earlier this week, Alex launched another scathing attack on the party’s right wing, saying a big part of his father’s record was “fighting the good fight against the crazies”.

Asked to whom he was referring, he proceeded to list the top five “crazy” MPs and senators by name, with Tony Abbott in first place. He described Mr Abbott as “a singularly destructive human being”.

RELATED: Alex Turnbull names and shames Liberal ‘crazies’

Alex appeared to have some sympathy for Mr Morrison, saying he suffered from “the same problem my dad had”.

“He’s got some very, very crazy people to deal with who are not particularly rational political actors,” he said.

“Being the leader of the Liberal Party and being sane is like being Bruce Willis in a Die Hard movie. It’s always crazy and bad but hopefully you come out and get some stuff done.”

He said his intervention in the by-election campaign had nothing to do with his father, who did not approve of his stance but was “dealing with it”.

“He’s out of office, I’m a private citizen, we can both do as we please,” Alex told the ABC on Monday, insisting he was “absolutely not” doing Mr Turnbull’s dirty work.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Mr Turnbull himself mysteriously liked a tweet expressing support for Dr Phelps.

“Back handing out policy info and how-to-vote cards for Kerryn Phelps at Waverley Oval pre-polling station. No longer wondering ‘Where’s Malcolm?’ Just hoping for a strong independent win on Saturday,” the tweet from a campaign volunteer said.

A photo of a cardboard cutout of Mr Turnbull, asking ‘Where’s Malcolm?’, accompanied it.

The like was undone within minutes, and no longer appears on Mr Turnbull’s feed.

He returns to Australia on Monday, having extended his trip abroad until after the by-election weekend.

His absence will be noticed.

Self-styled healer Serge Benhayon leads 'socially harmful cult': jury

By Michaela Whitbourn

15 October 2018 — 5:52pm

Serge Benhayon (centre)

Former Sydney tennis coach turned self-styled spiritual healer Serge Benhayon has suffered a spectacular loss in his Supreme Court defamation case against a former client, after a four-person jury found it was true to say he led a "socially harmful cult", "intentionally indecently touched" clients and made "bogus healing claims".

Serge Benhayon, 54, sued acupuncturist and former client Esther Rockett for defamation over a series of blog posts and tweets starting in November 2014, which he says portrayed him as "dishonest", a "charlatan who makes fraudulent medical claims", and the leader of a "socially harmful cult".

Mr Benhayon, a former bankrupt who operates the lucrative business Universal Medicine from his home near Lismore in the NSW Northern Rivers region, described himself in court as a "teacher" and "practitioner" whose healing techniques included "esoteric breast massage", which is taught by him but performed exclusively by women.

During his stint in the witness box, Mr Benhayon also said he "had an understanding" that in one of his many past lives he was Leonardo da Vinci.

He was flanked in court by numerous supporters, including family members and associates who kept a watchful eye on media coverage of the case, but numbers dwindled to a handful of stalwarts as the trial dragged on. Mr Benhayon himself did not attend every day of the trial and he was not in court on Monday when the verdict was delivered.

Ms Rockett had accused Mr Benhayon of performing a "sleazy ovarian reading" on her during a treatment session that involved inappropriate touching through her clothing.

The jury found Ms Rockett had established a defence of substantial truth to the bulk of the defamatory meanings pleaded by Mr Benhayon, including that he "intentionally indecently touched" her and a number of other clients during treatment sessions and was "the leader of a socially harmful cult".

They found the publications did not convey that he was a "sexual predator who has preyed on a number of clients", so a substantive defence to that meaning was not required.

However, the jury found it was also substantially true to suggest, as Ms Rockett claimed, that there were "reasonable grounds to believe" Mr Benhayon intentionally sexually preyed upon her and other clients during treatment sessions.

They also found it was true to say Mr Benhayon was the leader of Universal Medicine, "a group which to his knowledge makes false claims about healing that causes harm to others", and he had an "indecent interest in young girls as young as ten whom he causes to stay at his house unaccompanied".

Ms Rockett said “the jury has validated my criticisms of this cult and its leader" and the jury had "made the decision I had hoped for".

The case was highly complex and hard-fought, with Mr Benhayon claiming the 22 publications conveyed a total of 60 defamatory imputations about him.

In a multi-pronged legal defence, Ms Rockett's lawyers said the imputations were either not conveyed by the publications, or a defence of truth, honest opinion or qualified privilege was available.

The four-person jury was given the unenviable task of deciding whether the publications in fact conveyed the alleged imputations and, if so, whether Ms Rockett had established a defence. To complete that task, the jury had to provide a yes or no answer to more than 200 questions. Their deliberations took six-and-a-half days.

Ms Rockett, who is bankrupt, was unable to fund her legal defence but was represented in court by Sydney barristers Tom Molomby, SC, and Louise Goodchild.

In his closing address to the jury, Mr Molomby said Mr Benhayon was “just a conman from Goonellabah” and was “not Mona Lisa anymore" but "Mona Liar”.

Esther Rockett 

The jury found a handful of defamatory meanings were not defensible on the basis of truth or honest opinion, including that Mr Benhayon was "delusional" and had allegedly "groped the anus and vulva of various women under the guise of treating them".

But in those cases the jury said a defence of qualified privilege was available because the publications were reasonable in the circumstances and she was not "actuated by malice". Supreme Court Judge Julia Lonergan, who presided over the trial, is now expected to be asked to decide a remaining legal issue in relation to that defence to determine if it is established.

Ms Rockett’s solicitor, Stewart O’Connell of O’Brien Solicitors, said the verdict was a "victory against a Goliath organisation by a woman who refused to be bullied" and was a "vindication of Ms Rockett".

The parties return to court on December 7.

Former NSW teacher Edward Smith Hall found guilty of 21 child sex offences

ABC Newcastle 

By Giselle Wakatama

A former Newcastle and Sydney school teacher has spent his first night in jail after being found guilty of 21 child sexual abuse offences.

Edward Smith Hall, 68, known as Ted Hall, pleaded not guilty to 31 sexual and indecent assault offences between 1973 and 1986.

He was found guilty of all but 10 of the offences.

The 11 complainants were students at St Pius X High School in the Newcastle suburb of Adamstown where Mr Hall was a maths, history and geography teacher.

The boys were abused at school, in Mr Hall's unit, in the surf and on trips away.

Mr Hall, an ex-army sergeant, went on to teach at Newington College and Trinity Grammar in Sydney.

Key points:

·        This victims were students at St Pius X High School in Newcastle

·        A fire at the school in 2012 destroyed evidence

·        Hall will be sentenced on December 13

The judge-only trial was presided over by Newcastle District Court Judge Tim Gartelmann.

Yesterday he delivered a marathon judgement lasting six hours.

He found not guilty charges in relation to three boys, saying evidence available to him could not support the charges.

He noted a school fire in 2012 had destroyed evidence and that had put Hall at a disadvantage.

One boy, known to the court as PM, said he was abused several times on trips away, as well as in Mr Hall's Merewether unit.  The boy said he was at the unit to help Hall move his belongings to another apartment.

"He had baby oil and asked me if I wanted a grease and oil change," PM said.

Judge Gartelmann said that "the words struck me as being consistent with what one might expect to be such an escalation of the conduct between them".

"He told his mother he never wanted to return to him again.

"When giving her evidence, I vividly recalled her shock and I felt PM's evidence was wholly convincing."

Threat to kill boy's parents

The judge also spoke about the truthfulness of another boy, DK.

DK told the court he originally admired Hall as he had befriended him and encouraged him in his rugby pursuits.

But DK said that all changed when Hall raped him in 1984.

"I was lying on my stomach, I felt smothered, I couldn't move," he said.

When DK managed to break free, the court heard Hall told him not to talk or he would tell everyone he was a "poofter". He also threatened to kill his parents.

DK ran away and went to a toilet to clean himself up.

The court heard he ran into Hall a decade later and had broken down while telling his flatmate about what had happened.

Hall then ran into DK again at his workplace. A colleague told the court about DK being frantic and distressed, before telling her Hall had abused him.

"This was all utterly convincing evidence," Judge Gartelmann said.

Boy was told teacher was dead

The court heard Hall told another boy, RD, that he was a practicing nudist when he took the juvenile on a trip to the Barrington Tops.

"He said he was a practicing nudist and said, 'I am getting my gear off, do you want to get your gear off too'?" RD told the court.

Hall then put sunscreen lotion on the boy and asked the boy to put it on him.

RD then asked to be driven home.

Several years later RD told his wife about Hall, and in 2004 went to the Catholic Education office to complain, only to be told that Hall was dead.

He said when he saw Hall in the media after being charged in 2016 he was shocked.

"I saw a news article and contacted police that day," he said.

"When I saw him you could have blown me over with a feather," he said.

Other boys complained of crushing handshakes and being taunted by being called "poofters" or "dogs".

Mother said police did not act when she reported abuse

Hall's second last victim, DG, was assaulted in 1985 and 1986.

The court heard he shared the common interest of rugby league with Hall.

Once the abuse started, DG told the court Hall would assure him that "it is not gay, it is normal".

But DG said he was confused after Hall later approached him and apologised, blaming alcohol and medication for his actions.

Hall denied he ever apologised or ever abused him.

The judge disagreed.

The court also heard the boy's mother complained to police in 1986, but they did nothing.

"We went to Hamilton to see detectives and gave a statement that took most of the morning, but police got a call for urgent assistance and they said they'd be in touch, but we did not hear back from them," DG's mother told the ABC.

"The police did not seem very interested.

"The police made hand-written notes but nothing was signed, the police terminated the interview and we did not hear from them again, there was no investigation."

Survivors unite after verdicts

The Newcastle District Court gallery was packed for the judgement.

As each count was dealt with they held hands, took deep breaths and watched intently.

As the series of guilty verdicts were read out, there was an audible gasp.

When Judge Gartelmann gave the tally of 21 guilty verdicts, there was spontaneous applause.

Hall's bail was revoked and, as the sheriffs took him by the arms, people yelled out.

"Bye, bye, Teddy. Off you go. See you Teddy. Bye, bye rock spider"

Hall zipped up his travel bag, put his glasses into a case and showed no emotion as he was led away.

He will be sentenced on December 13.