Man convicted of child sexual abuse working as NSW touch football referee for juniors thanks to legal ‘loophole’

The Guardian - World NewsCenter-LeftEN 1 min read 100% complete by Sarah MartinFebruary 1, 2026 at 03:00 PM

AI Summary

short article 1 min

A man convicted of two child sexual abuse offences has been working as a touch football referee in New South Wales for over ten years, including officiating junior games. Touch Football NSW has cited a legal "loophole" as the reason for his continued employment. Child safety advocates are calling for stronger laws to prevent convicted child sexual abuse offenders from refereeing children's sports. The NSW government recently passed laws in September to strengthen the working with children check scheme, and the Office of the Children’s Guardian is reviewing the framework. Advocates believe further strengthening is needed to close the loophole and ensure children's safety.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Office of the Children’s Guardian 60% New South Wales government 70% New South Wales 80% Touch Football NSW 90%

Keywords

child sexual abuse 100% child safety 80% referee 70% touch football 70% working with children check 60% legal loophole 60% nsw 50% junior teams 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Negative

Score: -0.70

Source Transparency

Source

The Guardian - World News

Political Lean

Center-Left (-0.40)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

85%

Geographic Perspective

New South Wales

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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child sexual abuse child safety referee touch football working with children check legal loophole nsw junior teams

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