Former St Kilda and Melbourne ruckman Carl Ditterich charged with historic child sex offenses

Former AFL player Carl Ditterich has been charged with multiple child sex offenses related to an alleged incident in 1985.

The 78-year-old Moama man faces three counts of indecent assault and one count of gross indecency, all relating to a single alleged victim.

He was due to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday.

The arrest, confirmed by Victoria Police, relates to an allegation that Ditterich assaulted a child in Heatherton, southeast of Melbourne, when he was in his early 40s, shortly after finishing his AFL career.

The charges were issued by the Bayside Sexual Crimes and Child Abuse Investigation Team (SOCIT).

“Detectives from the Bayside Child Abuse and Sexual Crimes Investigation Team have charged a man following an investigation into alleged historical child sex crimes,” the statement said.

‘Incidents against a victim [allegedly] It happened in Heatherton in 1985.

Ditterich, who now lives in Echuca, has hired Tony Hargreaves, a well-known criminal lawyer, to defend him.

The Herald Sun reported that Hargreaves appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court and produced a medical certificate from Bendigo Health for Ditterich, who was absent from the hearing.

This certificate was presented to account for Ditterich’s absence.

Ditterich, known as the Blonde Bomber, had a distinguished career playing for St Kilda and Melbourne football clubs in the VFL, and later served as Melbourne’s captain-coach for two years.

Known for his dynamic debut as a 17-year-old and robust style of play as a ruckman, Ditterich’s aggressive approach to the game often landed him at the VFL Tribunal, causing him to miss St Kilda’s 1966 premiership victory due to a suspension.

Throughout his career, Ditterich made significant moves between clubs, including a notable move to Melbourne under the ’10-year rule’ and a return to St Kilda, before ending his playing career with a coaching spell at Melbourne .

“He was an exciting and controversial footballer through and through and made a huge contribution to the club’s history,” reads Ditterich’s St Kilda Hall of Fame profile.

“He had that rare, indefinable quality – presence – and whenever he was on the field, the rest of the team walked tall. Ditterich was a natural athlete and combined the height of a ruckman with the pace and agility of a ruck-rover.

Ditterich is due back in court on June 28 for an arraignment.