Patrick Power (lawyer)

Patrick John Piers Power (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.

Patrick Power
Born (1952-05-12) 12 May 1952
OccupationFormer Senior Counsel
Former Deputy Senior Crown Prosecutor NSW Department of Public Prosecutions
Criminal statusSince released
Conviction(s)Possession of child pornography
Criminal penaltySentenced to 15 months imprisonment with a minimum of eight months

Early life

According to Who's Who in Australia, Power was educated at Barker College in Hornsby, an Anglican Church school. He lived in Turramurra during his formative years. He obtained his law degree at the Australian National University, his master's 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.

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.[1]

Arrest and conviction

On 4 July 2006 Patrick Power requested the information technology department of his office to repair his personal computer which had been experiencing technical problems. During repairs, the technician examining the computer discovered a sub-directory (folder) containing evidence of files associated with child pornography including 31 video files and links to additional material on a removable 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.[2]

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".[3]

Fifty-nine members of the community, including former colleagues provided references of Power'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 9 May 2007, Power was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, to serve a minimum of eight months,[4] but was released on bail when his lawyers lodged an appeal against sentence.[5] 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.[6] He was released from gaol on 18 January 2008.[7]

On 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.[8][9][10]

Notes
  1. "Youth justice advisory committee". Department of Juvenile Justice. Archived from the original on 20 August 2006.
  3. "Police v Power 2007 NSWLC 1". Local Court of NSW. 9 May 2007. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012.
  4. "Porn-obsessed Power jailed". The Daily Telegraph. 9 May 2007.
  5. Brad Clifton (10 May 2007). "Pervert prosecutor free on bail". The Daily Telegraph.
  6. "Bar association mulls action on child porn prosecutor". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 10 May 2007.
  7. "Top prosecutor Power 'sorry' for child porn". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 18 January 2008.
  8. "Council of the NSW Bar Association v Power [2008] NSWCA 135 (17 June 2008)". Supreme Court of NSW. 18 June 2008.
  9. "Patrick John Piers Power". New South Wales Bar Association. Archived from the original on 27 July 2008.
  10. "Power struck off over child porn conviction". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 17 June 2008.
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