Former Forbes Citizen of the Year is remanded in custody for alleged child sex offences after he was briefly freed for cancer treatment

A city’s former Citizen of the Year has landed behind bars on child abuse charges after appearing in court Tuesday for a lengthy bail hearing.

Laurence ‘Laurie’ Wilfred Norris, 63, appeared in the Forbes Local Court, in central west NSW, on Tuesday charged with more than 70 sexual offences, including rape and crimes against children.

The 63-year-old was granted conditional bail after his arrest last Thursday as he had an urgent chemotherapy appointment for his leukemia the following day.

However, Magistrate Shields denied his bail on Tuesday, citing the “very serious” charges against him as the main reason.

“It would take very few of these cases to be proven before Mr. Norris faces full custody with a very, very important term,” he said.

His wife Rachael Morgan sat next to her husband – who was wearing a gray blanket and face mask – and shouted: “You’re killing him” as Magistrate Shields made his decision.

Norris’ attorney, Stephanie Shields, argued he should be granted bail so he could continue receiving chemotherapy and be supervised at home by his wife, a former nurse.

However, Magistrate Shields noted that Norris ‘would not be the only person in custody with a serious medical condition’.

“I have concluded that his needs can be adequately met in his custody and that this would not demonstrate why detention is not justified,” Magistrate Shields said.

‘Under the Bail Act I am obliged to refuse bail. The defender [Norris] should be taken back into custody.”

Norris is accused of sexually assaulting four girls, three of whom were under the age of 16 at the time of the alleged crimes, between 1974 and 2023.

Officers arrested the 63-year-old last Thursday after an 18-month police investigation, which reportedly gathered enough evidence to make a “very strong” case against him, according to court documents seen by Daily Mail Australia.

The charges against him include sexual assault on a person under 16 years of age, sexual intercourse without consent, attempted rape, indecency towards a girl under 16 years of age, and sexually touching another person without consent.

He will appear before Parkes Local Court via audio/visual link on July 18.

The court heard that Norris was a ‘respected member of the Forbes community and became a well-known provider of riding lessons’ before his alleged crimes came to light.

Norris was named Forbes Citizen of the Year at the 2022 Australia Day ceremony for his “commitment to ensuring generations of residents enjoy and achieve in riding and sport” and was the past president of the Forbes Pony Club.

He comes from a farming family well known within the Eugowra community; his father Wilf Norris was a popular farmer known for his use of horses to cultivate fields and his mother Pat was an equestrian and polocrosse player.

Wilf, who died last year aged 95, was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for his work with draft horses and services to heritage conservation after helping to establish the Australian Draft Horse Stud Book Society and the Golden Plow competition.

Norris continued his family’s love of horses by mentoring young riders and offering horse and buggy rides at local events. He is also a member of the committee of the local association for the disabled.

According to media reports at the time of his honor, Norris was described as a “tireless worker” and “popular within the community” who volunteered his time to mentor and coach young riders.

Accepting his award, Norris said he loved working with the Pony Club because teaching children how to ride “kept them safe.”

“Horses are great equalizers,” he told the Forbes Advocate in 2022.

‘Pony Club helps children become better horse people and keeps them safe.

“What children learn is how to be competitive, how to act, how to grow up and be a good person.”

Norris became involved with the Pony Club as a rider in 1975 before traveling around Australia and working as a wrangler in films including The Man From Snowy River.

He returned to Forbes in 2000 and again became involved with the Pony Club, which has about 50 members.

Norris dropped his gray blanket and removed his face mask as he was taken into custody by two officers from the courtroom.

His wife was removed from the courtroom for her outburst, while his relatives cried from the stands.

Norris will continue to receive chemotherapy treatment while in custody.

Strike Force Boche was established in October 2022 to investigate reports of alleged child sexual abuse by Norris.

As investigations continue, anyone with information is urged to call police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.