Experts in the Media

Adrian McKenna – ABC News

Criminal Defence Lawyer at Hugo Law Group

Mates Harrison James and Jarad Grice are on a mission to scrap good-character references for convicted paedophiles.

Criminal lawyer unconvinced change is necessary

A man with grey hair in a suit looks serious.

…Criminal lawyer Adrian McKenna says the laws around good-character references for paedophiles are already significantly restrictive.( ABC News: Lottie Twyford )

Not everyone is convinced.

Criminal lawyer and member of the ACT Law Society Criminal Committee Adrian McKenna argued the removal of the good-character references was unnecessary, given their use was already significantly restricted.

“In my view, it’s a step that we don’t need to take,” he said.

“The current law on character and sex offenders covers the issue in a very necessary way.”

Mr McKenna noted it was important to be able to distinguish between offenders in the justice system, and said he worried a step like this would threaten that.

“The current system works well and it should be maintained,” he said….

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-03/act-calls-remove-paedophile-sentencing-good-character-references/103057246