The NSW Parole Authority has decided to grant parole to convicted paedophile and disgraced former state government minister Milton Orkopoulos.
Orkopoulos was sentenced to serve at least nine years and three months jail in 2008 for 30 cases related to child sexual abuse and drugs charges. The cases concerned three boys in the Hunter Valley region and Lake Macquarie.
He became eligible for parole in 2017 but it was repeatedly refused because he did not take part in a sex offenders program.
Now that the intention to grant parole has been determined, all parties will have the opportunity to make submissions at a review hearing in four to six weeks.
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The Orkopoulos case was a bombshell for the then-NSW Labor Government.
His trial gave insight into his double life which involved having sex with minors and supplying them with cannabis and heroin.
During sentencing, Newcastle District Court Judge Ralph Coolahan said Orkopoulos’ “premeditated, predatory and manipulative” actions had far-reaching effects on his victims and involved a gross breach of trust.
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