Rory Amon Found Guilty of Raping 13-Year-Old Boy at Retrial
A New South Wales jury has found former state Liberal MP Rory Amon guilty of raping and indecently assaulting a 13-year-old boy in 2017. The
A New South Wales jury has found former state Liberal MP Rory Amon guilty of raping and indecently assaulting a 13-year-old boy in 2017. The verdict came on Friday, November 13, in the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney.
Jurors deliberated for about four hours. They convicted Amon, 37, on two counts: sexual intercourse with a person aged between 10 and 14, and indecent assault of a person under 16.
The former member for Pittwater remains on bail. He returns to court on Friday, November 27, for sentencing proceedings, and he faces the possibility of a significant jail term.
A retrial after a split outcome
This was Amon's second trial. In March, a different jury found him not guilty on eight of 10 charges linked to the same complainant. Those counts related to an alleged second meeting, which Amon denied ever took place.
That jury could not agree on the remaining two charges. The Director of Public Prosecutions chose to seek a retrial on them, and Friday's verdict resolved both.
What the court heard
The court heard Amon and the boy connected on an adults-only dating app and first met in person in July 2017. The two had swapped explicit images beforehand. Amon was 27 at the time.
Amon did not dispute that sexual activity happened at that meeting. His defense was that he honestly believed the boy was 17, and in earlier evidence he said he thought the boy was over 16.
The first trial heard the boy had overstated his age when he joined the app and again while messaging Amon. The jury rejected the belief defense at the retrial.
Political fallout
Amon won the state seat of Pittwater for the Liberals in March 2023. When he first contacted the boy, he was working full-time for federal Mackellar MP Jason Falinski.
He resigned from state parliament in August 2024 after his arrest. The charges led to his expulsion from the Liberal Party.
The complainant cannot be identified because of his age at the time of the offenses.
Sentencing proceedings are listed for November 27.
