Milton Orkopoulos, a disgraced former MP and two-time pedophile, has been confronted with heartbreaking details of how his young victims descended into drug addiction, mental illness and ruin, as he faces the prospect of going through the rest of his life behind bars.
The former NSW Labor Member for Swansea and Minister for Indigenous Affairs was found guilty earlier this year of a series of charges relating to the sexual abuse of four young victims and is awaiting his fate.
He will be sentenced later this year after a district court jury found him guilty of 28 counts relating to the sexual abuse of four young boys in the Lake Macquarie area and on the north shore of Nova Scotia. South Wales from 1993 to 2003.
Orkopoulos, 66, fought the allegations at trial; however, he was convicted of using his position of power in the community to drug his victims before abusing them.
Milton Orkopoulos was found guilty earlier this year of a series of charges relating to the sexual abuse of four young victims and is awaiting his fate.
Dressed in a green prison-issue tracksuit, he watched via video link on Friday the reading of victim statements from three of the men he assaulted as young boys and teenagers at Downing Center District Court in Sydney.
The statements were read out in court by a victim support worker and all detailed how their lives spun out of control after being abused by Orkopoulos.
A victim told the court that as a result of Orkopoulos’ sexual abuse, his relationship with his parents broke down and he was living on the streets, often without food or money.
“My upbringing was hugely disrupted and I never got back on track,” the man said in the statement.
Orkopoulos, 66, fought the allegations at trial
“After school, I found it difficult to find a real job given my level of education and training. And when I found work, I struggled with all that depression and confusion, and homelessness and drug addiction.
“I felt so confused – I thought no one believed me, even everyone hated me.”
Another Orkopoulos victim said he had been homeless and in prison most of his life, battling anxiety, depression, anger and suicidal thoughts.
He said the abuse tore his family apart and loved ones didn’t understand because “I didn’t confide in them, I was alone with my trauma”.
“I’ve been homeless many times and struggled to hold down a job,” he said.
“I have been incarcerated for most of my life. I’ve been on drugs since I was 11 – I started with weed at 11, stealing money from my parents to buy booze, stealing booze and cigarettes .
“I started going to prison when I was 11-12… I had multiple overdoses and a drug-induced heart attack. I used drugs to escape.
The court heard that a third victim suffered from confusion, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, flashbacks and nightmares and became a daily drug user aged 13.
“Because of you, I spent years in prison because of the addiction you inflicted on me,” he said.
“I was first arrested when I was 11 and went to juvenile justice when I was 12.
“You and the juvenile justice experience ruined me. It gave me a dirty taste of what was to come.
Earlier this year, Orkopoulos was found guilty of 11 counts of sexual intercourse with a child, six counts of indecent assault, two counts of indecency and seven counts of supply of a prohibited drug.
Earlier this year, Orkopoulos was found guilty of 11 counts of intercourse with a child, six counts of indecent assault, two counts of indecency and seven counts of supplying a prohibited drug. .
He was also found not guilty of the sole counts of supplying a prohibited drug and obstructing the course of justice.
He was found guilty of child sex involving three boys and indecent assault on the other.
Orkopoulos had previously been jailed on similar charges after being found guilty of abusing three boys and now faces spending the rest of his life in jail.
Orkopoulos was conditionally released in December 2019 after serving 11½ years.
However, he returned to custody three months later after being arrested for violating his parole conditions.
While in custody, Orkopoulos was charged with other offenses for which he was convicted.
New South Wales police said in June that Orkopoulos was treated for head, body and leg injuries after being beaten at the Long Bay Correctional Complex.
Orkopoulos was hospitalized following the alleged incident and earlier this week a 25-year-old fellow prisoner was arrested and charged with grievous bodily harm.
He appeared in Waverley Local Court on Thursday and is due to appear next week.
Orkopoulos will return to court in November to be sentenced.
For 24-hour confidential support in Australia, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
