Malcolm Day: Paedophile music teacher, 81, who sexually abused two of his students will be allowed to take his own life under euthanasia laws – 17 years before his sentence ends

Australia
By William

Malcolm Day: Pedophile music teacher, 81, who sexually assaulted two of his students will be allowed to commit suicide under euthanasia law – 17 years before his sentence ends

By Daily Mail Australia Reporter

Updated:

A pedophile music teacher who sexually assaulted two of his students will be allowed to commit suicide under assisted dying legislation.

Malcolm Day, 81, has 17 years left on his 20-year prison sentence and has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, possibly cancer, 9 News reports.

The sex offender, from Adelaide, wants to commit suicide under South Australia’s euthanasia laws and is said to be nearing the end of the application process.

Malcolm Day, 81, has 17 years left on his 20-year sentence and has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, possibly cancer

Thirty-nine South Australians with a terminal illness have committed suicide under voluntary assisted dying legislation since the legislation was introduced in January.

Day groomed and abused the students — one of them was just ten years old — in the 1980s and denied any wrongdoing when questioned by the state education department.

He was only jailed for his morbid crimes last June and will not be eligible for parole until 2034.

His lawyer Stephen Ey said it was likely his client would die in prison given his age.

Day groomed and abused the students—one of whom was just ten years old—in the 1980s and denied any wrongdoing when they were questioned by the state education department.

Day groomed and abused the students—one of whom was just ten years old—in the 1980s and denied any wrongdoing when they were questioned by the state education department.

“He is 80 years old and the current average life expectancy for a male is 82.9 years,” Ey said in court last year.

“Given that he has six years left in his current period of non-parole, it is likely that he will die in prison… he must face that.”

One of his victims described the abuse she suffered at the time as ‘selfish and shameful’.

Judge Jo-Anne Deuter said she “carried the crushing burden of pain, distrust and your lies for 40 years.”

How do assisted dying laws work in South Australia?

Voluntary assisted dying became legal for eligible South Australians on 31 January 2023 under the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2021.

The process allows patients to voluntarily self-administer, or have a doctor administer, a drug that will cause their death.

To qualify under the law, a patient must be diagnosed with an illness, disease or medical condition that is incurable, advanced and will result in death within six months, or within 12 months if it is a neurodegenerative disease.

They must also be 18 years old, an Australian citizen or resident, live in South Australia or have lived in the state for at least 12 months at the time of applying, and be able to make decisions independently and without any coercion to take.

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