- Finch avoided jail after pleading guilty to a child molestation charge
- He told police he was in the grips of drug addiction at the time
- He now faces another legal battle after finding a new job
Footy star Brett Finch is working as a trainee forklift driver after avoiding a prison sentence for sharing ‘depraved’ child sex abuse material amid a crippling cocaine addiction – but his legal dramas are not over yet.
In August 2022, the 42-year-old pleaded guilty to leaving a series of ‘twisted’ messages on a gay chat line in which he described a desire to perform sex acts with boys as young as 12. He was under the influence of drugs at the time.
Finch was sentenced to a two-year, $1,000 good behavior bond for using a carriage service to transmit, publish or promote child abuse, after being handed a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.
Finch (pictured reporting to police as part of his bail conditions) is facing a new legal battle after avoiding jail over his sickening messages on a phone chat line
The 42-year-old – who earned hundreds of thousands of dollars a year during his fourteen-season career in the NRL – is now training to become a forklift operator.
The star’s depraved actions – which he claimed were the result of his crippling cocaine addiction – led to his split from wife Elli Johnston (pictured together)
The shock fall from grace saw him split from his wife of five years, Elli Johnston, as he had to live on Centrelink payments when he was knocked back after applying for 300 jobs.
Now the former Roosters, Raiders and Storm football star is facing fresh legal drama after police accused him of breaching the conditions of his release.
His lawyer Paul McGirr said Finch “fulfilled every obligation he had” when he returned to the charges.
“On the anniversary of his sentence, he must report to the police in his area for the next eight years,” McGirr told police. Daily telegram.
“It is alleged that he failed to do so on the anniversary of his sentence last year.”
The publication spotted Finch leaving his beachside home in Sydney’s southern suburb of Ramsgate dressed in the uniform for his new forklift job.
It’s a huge change for the ex-State of Origin hero, who earned hundreds of thousands of dollars a year during his 14 seasons in the first grade and then landed commentary positions for Channel Nine and Fox Sports when he retired.
His drug addiction cost him his media roles and made him suicidal. He said he hit rock bottom when Nine ousted him in 2016.
Finch became a recluse when his shocking phone calls came to light, his attorney Mike Smith said during the October 2022 sentencing.
Finch (pictured playing State of Origin in 2006) moved into TV commentary when he retired from football, but his drug addiction ruined that career
Finch told the court he was disgusted with himself during the sentencing hearings – and admitted he was using up to 25 grams of cocaine a week at the time of his offences.
Smith told the court that the former star was so ashamed of his actions that he rarely left the house and would be at high risk of being beaten by “hardened criminals” if he ended up in prison.
Finch admitted he was disgusted with himself for sharing child sexual abuse material, which he said he only did in an attempt to get cocaine because his drug problem was “out of control.”
He said that at the height of his addiction he used 12 to 25 grams of cocaine a week and was on the pill for five days.
Finch told the court he left ‘twisted’ phone messages on FastMeet – a service for gay men – because he believed ‘hyper-sexualised’ users could be a last resort to obtain drugs.
In December 2020, Finch sent messages describing a desire to perform sexual acts with a 12-year-old boy.
Finch told police he was on “drugs” when he made the recordings, that he had not initiated any sexual conversations about children and that any reference to physical encounters with teenage boys was “just sex talk.”