Rory Amon allegedly abused 13-year-old in Northern Beaches car park, court hears
Updated ,first published
Warning: Graphic content
A man who described former NSW MP Rory Amon’s alleged sexual assaults in a car park toilet when he was 13 has broken down in court, saying his emotions quickly turned from “giddy and excited” to fear after they met in person while chatting online.
Amon, 35, has pleaded not guilty to 10 charges relating to two alleged incidents while he was a Northern Beaches councillor, including five counts of sexual intercourse with a child aged 10 to 14, two counts of indecent assault on a person under 16, two counts of attempted sexual intercourse with a child aged 10 to 14 and committing an indecent act with a person under 16.
In her opening statement on Friday, Crown Prosecutor Meaghan Fleeton told the jury they would hear evidence that the boy told Amon he was 15 when they connected on a dating app in June or July 2017.
The defense argued that Amon, who was 27 at the time, believed he was communicating with someone at least 16 years old.
Giving evidence, the now 22-year-old said he created a profile on a gay dating app when he was 13 and when he was eight he created a profile on a gay dating app because he wanted to “hook up”. [and] attention,” adding that he was “very insecure.”
He said he lied about his age to create the profile, that the minimum age was 18, and that he used a photo of his upper body because he wanted to remain anonymous.
Although he didn’t remember whether he reached out to Amon first, he said he was surprised that most of the users were older men and didn’t think he would speak up first.
The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said the couple briefly talked about the app before switching to Snapchat at Amon’s request, as messages and photos were deleted there.
He testified that he remembered telling a friend at a chicken shop that he was “mainly excited and feeling a little woozy… and that he felt it was a foreshadowing of something romantic.”
The complainant said the two discussed meeting in person. Amon offered to pick him up, but since he was a stranger, they decided to meet outside the north beach apartment where the teenager’s parents were living at the time.
The man said that although there was parking out front, Amon chose to park down the street. She told her parents she was going for a run and met Amon out front before taking him to the common courtyard.
At this point, he said, Amon wanted to go somewhere “quieter.”
“He was looking around and noticed a staircase leading down to the garage, so I followed him,” the man said.
“I said we could hang out in the hallway down to the garage because I was a little scared at this point.”
‘I knew it was gross and I didn’t want to do it again… I got stressed and blocked him on Snapchat.’
Complainant
The boy said he followed Amon to a shared bathroom in the parking lot and closed the door.
As Fleeton showed the boy photos of the hallway and bathroom, he put his head in his hands and broke down. When asked if the judge wanted a recess, he said he didn’t and continued answering questions.
Amon is accused of committing multiple sexual assaults, including oral sex in the bathroom. Most of it is too graphic to detail.
They then said goodbye and the man left for his home. Later that night, she said Amon sent her a sexual message via Snapchat.
The man said the two continued to communicate over the next few days and agreed to meet a second time in the same bathroom.
This time, Amon brought a towel with him before allegedly committing the second sexual assault.
The two parted ways after the alleged attack. The man said Amon was “very insistent” about meeting again for more sexual intercourse but “didn’t know how to say no.”
“I still didn’t have the vocabulary to describe what it was, how it made me feel,” he said.
“But I knew it was so gross and I didn’t want to do it again… I made up that I was moving away… And I got stressed and blocked him on Snapchat.”
This was the last time the two met face to face.
The court heard the complainant later told her school’s health teacher about the alleged sexual assault but declined to give details.
He said the experience worsened his anxiety and depression.
“I felt so disconnected from reality, just kind of getting away from having crying outbursts and sitting in bed and staring at the wall,” she said.
The court had previously heard the teacher made the statement to police and the boy’s mother. Police spoke with the child briefly, but the investigation was put on hold because the child was still not comfortable elaborating. The court heard the boy also trusted his friends and psychologist, who were also called to give evidence.
In his opening statement, Fleeton said the pair reconnected over Snapchat “for just a few weeks” in 2019 or 2020, adding that the boy “found some information indicating that this defendant was a Northern Beaches Council Narrabeen District councillor”.
“It was the first time he became aware of the identity of the defendant,” he said.
The complainant formally reported the matter to police in late June 2022. He was 18 years old at the time.
A month later, the Crown alleges, there was “brief contact” between the pair on the dating app Grindr.
Police first spoke to Amon in March 2024 and he was arrested three months later.
“It is very important to note that the complainant was unable to consent to any of the sexual acts in the indictment due to her age,” Fleeton said.
Amon’s barrister, Matthew Johnston, SC, making his opening statement, did not dispute that the pair had connected online and had sexual intercourse, but did dispute that they had met twice.
He argued that “the complainant never stated her actual age to Mr. Amon.”
Johnston said Amon’s case was that he “always had an honest and reasonable belief.” [the boy] “He was at least 16 years old and it was an innocent state of mind.”
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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