A university student who was wrongly named by Channel Seven as the man who killed six people at a Bondi Junction shopping center on Saturday has threatened the broadcaster with legal action.
Benjamin Cohen, a student at the University of Technology Sydney, wants an apology, compensation and costs for damage caused after he was falsely named as the murderer with knife
The real killer was 40-year-old Joel Cauchi, from Queensland, but Cohen, 20, was named as the attacker in two Channel Seven broadcasts.
Sunrise host Matt Shirvington said on Weekend Sunrise at 6.05am on Sunday that the killer was “Benjamin Cohen, 40, wearing a Kangaroos ARL jersey”.
Shortly after, hosts Monique Wright and Michael Usher spoke to reporter Lucy McLeod, who also misnamed Mr. Cohen.
Benjamin Cohen (pictured) wants an apology, compensation and costs for damages caused after being falsely named as the Bondi Junction knife killer.
“The police know the attacker, Benjamin Cohen, 40,” he wrongly stated. “His motives are still unknown; he worked alone.”
Cohen was falsely named as the killer on social media just hours after the mass killings in Sydney’s eastern suburb on Saturday afternoon.
Police did not name Cauchi as the killer until around 9 a.m. Sunday.
The television network said “human error” was to blame for wrongly naming the computer science student as the killer.
Seven’s apology was read out by journalist Sarah Jane Bell on Sunday night.
“One last thing, this morning in reports about the incident, the perpetrator was incorrectly named as Benjamin Cohen,” he said.
“The 40-year-old man’s name was later confirmed to be Joel Cauchi from Queensland. Seven apologizes for any upset caused by our previous reporting.
Under the New South Wales Defamation Law, Cohen could receive damages of up to $459,000.
He is represented by leading law firm Giles George, which is also representing former Channel Seven producer Taylor Auerbach in his case against the broadcaster.
News.com.au reported that Mr. Auerbach has issued a notice of concern regarding comments allegedly made by some of the network’s top brass surrounding his interview with Bruce Lehrmann and claims made in court by Mr. Auerbach.
The real killer was Joel Cauchi from Queensland (pictured), but Cohen was named as the attacker in several Channel 7 broadcasts.
Cohen said being wrongly named as the killer by Seven was “very distressing”.
“It’s extremely disappointing to me to see people mindlessly spreading misinformation like this without even thinking about checking the facts,” he said. The Australian.
“But what’s even more disappointing to me is that a major news network would do this, using my name without waiting for a statement from the police to verify it or going out and trying to verify it themselves.”
WhatsNew2Day Australia contacted Channel Seven for comment and a spokesperson told: “We do not comment on legal matters.”