ID :
193729
Fri, 07/08/2011 - 13:30
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http://m.oananews.org//node/193729
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Mem Fox's husband guilty of sex with youth
SYDNEY, JULY 8 (AAP) - The husband of children's author Mem Fox had an affair with an underaged drama student after the youth turned to him for help.
Malcolm Arthur Fox, 67, was found guilty in the South Australian District Court on Friday of four counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with the then 17-year-old male student in 1984.
Prosecutor Tim Preston told Fox's trial that the former French and drama teacher engaged in the four acts of oral sex with the teenager - at their school, at Fox's home and at the teenager's house.
Fox denied the allegations.
He said their only sexual encounters were two embarrassing unwanted advances from the boy, including one in which the teenager yanked down Fox's pants and started masturbating him before Fox could stop him.
"I was embarrassed really, it was very awkward," Fox said during evidence.
Prosecutor Tim Preston accused Fox of making that up to cover for the fact the youth knew Fox was uncircumcised.
Mr Preston said the affair began after the boy turned to Fox for help and confessed he had been sexually abused by another man.
Shortly afterwards the youth began to get invitations to Fox parties and the affair began.
Mr Preston said Fox's account of the teenager making the advances beggared belief.
Judge Gordon Barrett apparently thought the same.
"It is intrinsically implausible," the judge said in published reasons.
"I find it unlikely in the extreme that the complainant, who was 17 at the time and had been the accused's student for several years, would suddenly make so confronting a sexual advance."
He said some of the correspondence from Fox to the teenager suggested a sexual interest.
"I am satisfied that between late August and late November 1984 there were more than four occasions of sexual intercourse consisting of fellatio, between the accused and the complainant."
He said the acts were consensual and found Fox guilty on the four charged counts.
In SA the age of consent is 17 but rises to 18 years when one of the parties is in a position of authority.
Fox was supported in court by his wife of 42 years, Mem, the author of children's books, including Possum Magic.
She appeared stunned when the guilty verdict was announced, saying it was "totally unbelievable".
Their daughter Chloe Fox is a former journalist and teacher who won Adelaide's state Labor seat of Bright in 2006.
Fox will be sentenced at a later date.
Malcolm Arthur Fox, 67, was found guilty in the South Australian District Court on Friday of four counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with the then 17-year-old male student in 1984.
Prosecutor Tim Preston told Fox's trial that the former French and drama teacher engaged in the four acts of oral sex with the teenager - at their school, at Fox's home and at the teenager's house.
Fox denied the allegations.
He said their only sexual encounters were two embarrassing unwanted advances from the boy, including one in which the teenager yanked down Fox's pants and started masturbating him before Fox could stop him.
"I was embarrassed really, it was very awkward," Fox said during evidence.
Prosecutor Tim Preston accused Fox of making that up to cover for the fact the youth knew Fox was uncircumcised.
Mr Preston said the affair began after the boy turned to Fox for help and confessed he had been sexually abused by another man.
Shortly afterwards the youth began to get invitations to Fox parties and the affair began.
Mr Preston said Fox's account of the teenager making the advances beggared belief.
Judge Gordon Barrett apparently thought the same.
"It is intrinsically implausible," the judge said in published reasons.
"I find it unlikely in the extreme that the complainant, who was 17 at the time and had been the accused's student for several years, would suddenly make so confronting a sexual advance."
He said some of the correspondence from Fox to the teenager suggested a sexual interest.
"I am satisfied that between late August and late November 1984 there were more than four occasions of sexual intercourse consisting of fellatio, between the accused and the complainant."
He said the acts were consensual and found Fox guilty on the four charged counts.
In SA the age of consent is 17 but rises to 18 years when one of the parties is in a position of authority.
Fox was supported in court by his wife of 42 years, Mem, the author of children's books, including Possum Magic.
She appeared stunned when the guilty verdict was announced, saying it was "totally unbelievable".
Their daughter Chloe Fox is a former journalist and teacher who won Adelaide's state Labor seat of Bright in 2006.
Fox will be sentenced at a later date.
