A Victoria Police officer has walked free from court without spending a day in jail despite admitting to years of child sex offences committed against a young girl who was just nine when the abuse started.
Conor McCurley, 26, a first constable from the North West Metro region, was last year hit with 19 charges, including one count of sexual penetration and multiple counts of committing indecent acts with or in presence of a child under 16. Details of his offences are too vile to publish.
But on Tuesday he avoided jail in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court after agreeing to admit responsibility for his crimes in exchange for a diversion. Two charges were struck out, and he was ordered to pay $7500 to his victim, and $2500 to Melbourne sexual assault counselling service Westcasa.
Magistrate Malcolm Thomas described McCurley’s offending as “absolutely disgusting”, but said the deal agreed to by the defence and the prosecution gave the victim “the agency she deserves”, The Herald Sun reported.
Mr Thomas said if McCurley had fought the charges as he previously indicated, a trial could be “deeply traumatic” for the victim who would face cross examination.
“At first blush a member of the public may say it’s outrageous for it to be dealt with in this way,” crown prosecutor Matthew Fisher told the court.
“But we say there are powerful factors at play in reaching this position.”
McCurley read an apology to his victim, who told the court she was robbed of her childhood by the years of abuse, which started in 2011.
She wept as she told of her she was forced to keep her “disgusting secret” for years, and was even warned not to report McCurley so as not to ruin his law enforcement career ambitions.
When she finally confronted him in 2021, McCurley shrugged off the offending as an “ignorant boy’s mistake”, the court heard.
