Ex-priest spared jail after breaching sex offender conditions

AUSTRALIA
The Age

February 28, 2014

Adam Cooper
Reporter for The Age

A former Catholic priest on the sex offenders registry has avoided a jail term despite admitting he breached a court order by umpiring junior cricket matches.

Paul Chris Pavlou, 54, stood in 11 under-15 matches between 2010 and 2012 for the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association in what was a breach of his obligations as a convicted sex offender, in that he was paid to work with children.

Pavlou also had a previous conviction for failing to comply with conditions of the registry, to which he was added for his 2009 conviction for performing an indecent act with a child under 15 and knowingly possessing child pornography.

At one point in Pavlou’s plea hearing on Friday, County Court judge Paul Lacava asked of defence counsel Sam Stafford: “How many chances does a sex offender have to get before he receives a term of imprisonment?”

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