Former NSW MP takes the stand
Warning: graphic content
Former NSW Liberal MP Rory Amon has denied raping a 13-year-old boy in a communal car park toilet 10 years ago, telling the court the boy told him he was 17 and thought he was still that age when they met.
The Crown maintains the alleged assaults took place twice in 2017 at the Northern Beaches apartment block where the boy lived with his parents, but the 36-year-old said he believed the teenager was underage in the first incident and no second interview was held.
Amon faces a NSW Supreme Court trial to defend 10 child sexual abuse charges relating to two incidents, including five sexual encounters with a child aged 10 to 14.
The complainant testified that when they connected to an adult hookup site, he believed he told Amon he was 15, and Amon told the boy he was 17. The boy was 13 years old at the time.
The former Northern Beaches councilor did not have to take the stand to share his version of events but chose to do so.
Lawyer Matthew Johnston told SC he used a hidden phone to access dating app Grindr and regularly deleted and recreated profiles due to “feelings of guilt or shame” about struggling with his sexuality.
“I guess the main point of it was that I hadn’t been out sexually until now,” he said.
Amon said his age was correctly stated as 27 in his profiles.
Amon’s political career was flourishing when he linked to the teenager’s profile in mid-2017. Mackellar at the time was working for federal MP Jason Falinski and campaigning for the upcoming council election primaries.
He served two terms on the Northern Beaches council and was elected Liberal MP for Pittwater in 2023.
“Yes, I saw his face… I thought he was the age he told me he was, 17”.
Amon said he remembered the boy telling him he was 17 years old. He said he would be honest when asked if he had revealed his own age, although he “didn’t specifically remember”. The complainant had previously said his profile picture showed an anonymous photo of his upper body.
The conversation moved to the message-deleting app Snapchat, which Amon said was a normal progression for such encounters.
Photos were shared, including “hidden face photos”. Amon said no photos or messages suggested the child was younger than he said, as it would be “a problem” if he was under 16, the legal age of consent.
The couple arranged to meet outside the teenager’s home in the Northern Beaches one night in June.
Johnston asked if he could see Amon’s face.
Amon said there were street lamps and apartment lights, adding: “But yes, I could see his face.”
Johnston asked: “How old did you think he was?” Amon said: “I thought you were the age he told me, which was 17.”
Amon said they “chatted pleasantly” before the boy led him down a dimly lit hallway and into a bathroom attached to the shared garage.
“I remember saying something like, ‘Where are we going?'” Amon said. The boy denied this, claiming that Amon had taken the lead.
The former MP allegedly assaulted the boy multiple times in the toilet, placing his hands on the teenager’s genitals and instructing him to perform oral sex.
Amon said he knew “sexual activity occurred” but “did not remember the details.” He argued that they had consent because he believed the complainant was 17 years old.
The jury heard that Amon brought a towel to the second incident, one to two weeks later, in which he was accused of performing oral sex on the boy and attempting to have sex with him.
Amon denied a second meeting took place. He told Johnston that toll records showed he was traveling between political and sporting events in Sydney and Canberra during the weekend of the second alleged incident.
Amon said the pair did not speak much after the first meeting until they briefly contacted each other via Grindr in October 2022, when he sent a photo of himself wearing a NSW Rural Fire Service outfit. This photo was presented to the media.
The man, now 22, had previously stated that he was “sure” that Amon’s explanation for the age meeting was “not possible”.
She described how her “giddy and excited” feelings at the prospect of a romantic relationship turned to fear when Amon guided her toward the bathroom.
He said he did not fully understand that sexual acts would occur because he was “not developmentally ready.”
The court heard Amon wanted to meet up again but the boy blocked him because he “knew it was so disgusting and didn’t want to do it again”.
He highlighted psychological effects such as crippling depression, anxiety-induced stomach aches and declining grades.
She vaguely confided in her teacher, her friends, her mother, and the police, but did not feel comfortable opening a formal investigation until several years later, when she learned that Amon was in his thirties and working in politics.
The hearing before Deputy Judge Robert Allan Hulme continues.
Anyone needing support can contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732), National Sexual Exploitation and Reparations Support Service 1800 211 028, Lifeline 13 11 14, Child Helpline 1800 55 1800.
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