Patrick Power (Australian)

Infobox Criminal
subject_name = Patrick John Power


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conviction = Possession of child pornography
penalty =
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occupation = Senior Counsel
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:"For other persons named Patrick Power, see Patrick Power (disambiguation)."Patrick John Piers Power, SC (born 12 May 1952) is a former Senior Counsel in New South Wales, Australia. He was Deputy Senior Crown Prosecutor at the NSW Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP). In May 2007 he was convicted of possessing child pornography.

Early life

According to "Who's Who" Power's education began at the upmarket, private Barker College in Hornsby, run by the Anglican Church. He obtained his law degree at the Australian National University, his Masters degree at the University of Sydney and accomplished an MBA at the University of New South Wales. He returned to Sydney Uni to work on his PhD. He completed his PhD thesis at the ANU on comparative restorative justice practice.

Legal career

Power was admitted as a barrister and worked for 16 years as a prosecutor in serious criminal cases (including sex cases). He was also the chairperson of the New South Wales Youth Justice Advisory Committee. He was instrumental in promoting and helping draft the Young Offenders Act 1997 (NSW) which instituted restorative justice conferencing for young offenders. He was a consultant to the New South Wales Government on the implementation of restorative justice processes for adults. [http://www.djj.nsw.gov.au/yjac.htm]

Arrest and conviction

On 4 July 2006 Patrick Power returned from a vacation in Thailand and reported to the IT department of his office that his laptop computer had technical problems. During repairs, the technician examining the laptop discovered a sub-directory (folder) containing evidence of files associated with child pornography including 31 video files and links to additional material on a removeable hard drive.

The technician notified his superiors and Power was subsequently arrested on 6 July 2006. He was then also suspended from his duties, but remained on full pay until his formal resignation in January 2007. His annual base remuneration amounted to $ 221,000. [http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19927698-1702,00.html]

Power pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography during his court appearance at Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court. Victorian chief Crown prosecutor Jeremy Rapke said Power had collected in excess of 29,000 pornographic images including 433 pictures and 31 videos depicting children. He said, they were of "the worst and highest grade pornography" involving "humiliation and sadistic bestiality". [cite web | title = Police v Power 2007 NSWLC 1 | publisher = Local Court of NSW | date = 2007-05-09 | url = http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lcjudgments/nswlc.nsf/9e96e35bef27f94bca2572590027d3ec/332daaf1cf47bde2ca2572da007fc1b7?OpenDocument]

Fifty-nine members of the legal profession provided references of their former colleague's good character to the court. This included a statement by the state's most senior Crown Prosecutor, Mark Tedeschi QC, a colleague of Power's of 26 years.

Sentencing and release

On May 9, 2007, Power was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, to serve a minimum of eight months [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Porn-obsessed Power jailed | date=May 9, 2007 | publisher=Daily Telegraph | url =http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21700039-5001021,00.html | work =The Daily Telegraph | pages = | accessdate = | language = ] , but was released on bail when his lawyers lodged an appeal against sentencecite news | first= | last=Brad Clifton | coauthors= | title=Pervert prosecutor free on bail | date=May 10, 2007 | publisher= | url =http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21702129-5006009,00.html | work =The Daily Telegraph | pages = | accessdate = | language = ] . The appeal was dismissed on 14 June 2007 and Power was imprisoned for seven months. A case against the Daily Telegraph was withdrawn by the Law Society on 20 November 2007 because an apology had been printed by that newspaper.

Power's practicing certificate was suspended by the NSW Bar Association. [cite web | title = Bar association mulls action on child porn prosecutor | publisher = Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date = 2007-05-10 | url = http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200705/s1919016.htm] He was released from gaol on 18 January 2008. [cite web | title = Top prosecutor Power 'sorry' for child porn | publisher = Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date = 2008-01-18 | url = http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/01/18/2141385.htm]

On the 17 June, the New South Wales Court of Appeal found Patrick Power guilty of Professional Misconduct, that he was not a fit and proper person to remain on the Roll of Legal Practitioners, and that his name be removed from the Roll of Legal Practitioners. [cite web | title = Council of the NSW Bar Association v Power [2008] NSWCA 135 (17 June 2008) | publisher = Supreme Court of NSW | date = 2008-06-18 | url = http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/nsw/NSWCA/2008/135.html] [cite web | title = Patrick John Piers Power | publisher = New South Wales Bar Association | url = http://www.nswbar.asn.au/docs/professional/pcd/PatrickJohnPiersPower.php] [cite web | title = Power struck off over child porn conviction | publisher = Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date = 2008-06-17 | url = http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/17/2277220.htm]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19713240-421,00.html News Ltd]
* [http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21615071-5001021,00.html]