Disgraced former MP and twice-convicted pedophile Milton Orkopoulos has been jailed for 20 years for ‘calculated, predatory and manipulative’ child sex crimes.
The former NSW Labor member for Swansea and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs appeared in the NSW District Court on Friday to hear his fate for sexually assaulting four boys aged between 10 and 15.
Earlier this year, a jury found him guilty of 26 charges relating to the sexual abuse of the boys in the Lake Macquarie region, north of Sydney, between 1993 and 2003.
The court heard the 66-year-old used his powerful position in the community to groom his victims and supply them with drugs before abusing them.
Judge Jane Culver sentenced him on Friday to a minimum of 13 years in prison, with a maximum sentence of 20 years for the “calculated, predatory and manipulative” crimes.
Milton Orkopoulos was convicted as ‘calculated, predatory and manipulative’. Above, seen in 2005
Wearing a prison green tracksuit, Orkopoulos maintained an impassive expression as his sentence was handed down.
She found the former Labor MP had engaged in ‘opportunistic abuse’ by isolating four vulnerable pre-pubescent boys and sexually exploiting 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 return for sexual activity, which often took place in his car or his parliamentary office.
Judge Culver found that these three victims were subjected to ‘ongoing’ sexual abuse by Orkopoulos as part of his ‘general pattern of sexual exploitation of young men’.
The court heard he briefly had sex with one child, despite the boy crying in pain and shouting for the perpetrator to stop.
Orkopoulos has pleaded not guilty to the crimes and continues to deny engaging in sexual conduct with the underage boys.
Judge Culver found his denials showed he had “no remorse or remorse” for his crimes.
The former MP was convicted of 11 charges of sexual intercourse with a child, six charges of indecent assault, two charges of indecency and seven charges of supplying a prohibited drug.
Above is Orkopoulos’s electoral office in Swansea, between the central coast and Newcastle north of Sydney
Orkopoulos more recently seen at court
The victims told the court that every aspect of his life had been disrupted by Orkopoulos’ abuse, and that they had all subsequently struggled with drug addiction.
“I never got back on track,” one victim told the court.
“I blamed myself and I hated myself.”
Another victim said ‘anger turned his life upside down’ and he spent most of his life in prison after he was sexually abused by the Labor MP at the age of 11.
“I was alone with my trauma and basically tore my family apart and destroyed my own life,” he said.
The third victim was ten years old and just “a confused child” when Orkopoulos gave him drugs and sexually abused him several times.
The court heard he suffered from anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I started to think I was disgusting and worthless,” he told the court.
‘I continue to harbor that shame.’
Judge Culver said it was “difficult not to be moved” by the descriptions of “such profound harm” caused by the pedophile.
She acknowledged that Orkopoulos had previously been jailed for 13 years and eight months in 2008 for sexually abusing three other young boys over a similar period.
The court heard he was released on parole in December 2019 after serving 11 and a half years, but was taken back into custody months later on charges of these offences.
The serial pedophile will be eligible for parole for the first time on June 13, 2033.