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Disgraced former MP and twice-convicted paedophile Milton Orkopoulos has been jailed for twenty years for ‘calculated, predatory, and manipulative’ child sex offences.
The former NSW Labor member for Swansea and minister for Aboriginal affairs appeared in the NSW District Court on Friday to learn his fate for sexually abusing four boys between 10 and 15 years old.
Earlier this year, a jury determined he was guilty of 26 charges relating to the sexual abuse of the boys in the Lake Macquarie region, north of Sydney, between 1993 to 2003.
The court heard the 66-year-old used his powerful position in the community to groom his victims and ply them with drugs before abusing them.
On Friday, Judge Jane Culver sentenced him to at least 13 years behind bars, with a maximum sentence of 20 years for the ‘calculated, predatory and manipulative’ offences.
Milton Orkopoulos was condemned as ‘calculated, predatory and manipulative’. Above, seen in 2005
Orkopoulos wore a prison green tracksuit and maintained an impassive expression as his sentence was delivered.
She found the former Labor MP had engaged in ‘opportunistic abuse’ by isolating four vulnerable and pre-pubescent boys to sexually exploit them.
The court heard the pedophile had sexual intercourse with three of the boys and indecently assaulted another.
The court was told he gave three of the victims drugs, cigarettes, and money in exchange for sexual activity, which often took place in his car or his parliamentary office.
Judge Culver found those three victims were subjected to ‘persistent’ sexual abuse by Orkopoulos as part of his ‘general pattern of sexual exploitation of young males’.
The court heard he continued to have sex with one child for a short time, despite the boy crying from the pain and screaming for the offender to stop.
Orkopoulos pleaded not guilty to the offences and continues to deny engaging in sexual conduct with the underage boys.
Judge Culver found his denials revealed he had ‘no remorse or contrition’ for his crimes.
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The former MP was jailed for 11 counts of intercourse with a child, six counts of indecent assault, two counts of an act of indecency and seven counts of supplying a prohibited drug.
Above is Orkopoulos’s electoral office in Swansea, between the central coast and Newcastle north of Sydney
Orkopoulos seen more recently at court
The victims told the court every aspect of his life had been disrupted by Orkopoulos’ abuse, and they had all subsequently struggled with drug addiction.
‘I never got back on track,’ one victim told the court.
‘I’ve blamed myself and I’ve hated myself.’
Another victim said ‘anger turned life upside down’ and he spent most of his life in prison after he was sexually abused by the Labor MP when he was 11 years old.
‘I was alone with my trauma and basically tore my family apart and ruined my own life,’ he said.
The third victim was 10 years old and only ‘a mixed up kid’ when Orkopoulos fed him drugs and sexually abused him on several occasions.
The court heard he suffered from anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
‘I started to think I was disgusting and that I was worthless,’ he told the court.
‘I continue to hold that shame.’
Judge Culver said it was ‘hard not to be moved’ by the descriptions of ‘such profound harm’ done by the pedophile.
She acknowledged Orkopoulos had previously been jailed in 2008 for 13 years and eight months for sexually abusing three other young boys during a similar time period.
The court heard he was released on parole in December 2019 after serving 11-and-a-half years, but returned to custody months later charged with these offences.
The serial pedophile will be first eligible for parole on June 13, 2033.
