A jury has found former NSW Liberal MP Rory Amon guilty of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy, a conviction that could result in a lengthy jail term.
Amon, 37, was found guilty on Friday of one count of sexual intercourse with a person aged between 10 and 14, and of indecently assaulting a child. The jury reached its verdict after about four hours of deliberations.
Second Trial and Case Details
The 37-year-old was standing trial for a second time at the New South Wales Supreme Court. A previous jury cleared him of eight separate child sex offences in March but failed to reach a verdict on the other two.
The case centred on Amon's contact with a 13-year-old boy, whom he met through an adults-only website, the court heard. Amon had consistently denied the allegations, claiming he genuinely believed the boy was over 16. His original trial heard the boy had given a false age when signing up to the gay dating app and repeated it during conversations with Amon.
The pair exchanged explicit images before arranging to meet in 2017 in the car park of the boy's apartment block, the court heard.
Political Career and Fallout
At the time, Amon was working full-time for Jason Falinski, a federal MP representing the Australian constituency of Mackellar. He later served two terms on the Northern Beaches council before being elected as the Liberal MP for Pittwater in 2023.
The charges brought his political career to an abrupt end, with Amon expelled from the Liberal Party and forced to resign just months after his election in March 2023. His departure triggered a by-election, in which the Liberals lost the previously safe seat to an independent candidate.
Sentencing and Precedent
Amon remains on bail and is due back in court for a sentencing hearing on November 27. He is the third former NSW MP to be convicted of sexual offences in recent years.
Former Kiama MP and Coalition minister Gareth Ward was jailed in 2025 for sexually abusing two young men, including a political staffer who was drunk following an event at NSW Parliament House. His minimum prison term of three years and nine months is due to expire in April 2029.
Former NSW minister Milton Orkopoulos was convicted in 2023 of sexually abusing teenage boys while serving as a state Labor MP. The 65-year-old was found guilty of 26 offences involving four underage boys, as well as supplying them with drugs over a decade-long period ending in 2003. He had previously served more than a decade in prison for separate offences, including the sexual assault of a minor, indecent assault and supplying heroin and cannabis.
