A 12-member jury at the New South Wales Supreme Court convicted former Australian lawmaker Rory Amon on Friday of raping and indecently assaulting a 13-year-old boy he met through an adult dating app.
Had Amon escaped conviction, the case would have collapsed after two grueling trials. Instead, jurors weighed the evidence for four hours before returning unanimous guilty verdicts on two counts: sexual intercourse with a child aged between 10 and 14, and indecent assault of a person under 16. The 37-year-old former state representative showed little emotion as the foreperson delivered the decision.
The verdict sealed a swift political fall.
The offenses trace back to July 2017, when Amon initiated contact with the victim on an adult dating platform before shifting communications to Snapchat. Court documents show the pair exchanged direct messages and explicit photographs over the encrypted messaging network. Later that month, they arranged an in-person meeting. The teenager told his parents he was leaving home for a run.
But he never went jogging. Instead, the teenager met Amon outside an apartment complex, and the two walked through a communal courtyard into an underground car park toilet. Prosecutors detailed how Amon kissed the teenager, forced the boy’s hand onto his clothing, and compelled the minor to perform oral sex.
Amon never disputed that the sexual encounter occurred. He built his entire legal defense around age perception, testifying he believed the boy was 17. The complainant countered that he had claimed to be 15 during their conversations—though his actual age was 13.
He said he was developmentally not ready, and did not fully understand that sexual activity would take place.
Crown Prosecution Evidence, Pre — Recorded Witness Testimony
After the assault, the teenager confided in several acquaintances, including a schoolteacher who filed a mandatory report with authorities. The boy did not initially know the lawmaker's identity. He finally identified Amon around 2020 or 2021 after seeing his campaign photographs circulate on the internet, eventually filing a formal police complaint in 2022 upon turning 18.
Friday’s conviction concluded an exhaustive second trial prompted by a deadlocked proceeding earlier this year. During that first trial, a separate jury acquitted Amon of eight charges connected to an alleged second encounter after the prosecution conceded reasonable doubt regarding whether that second meeting ever occurred. However, that panel failed to resolve the two charges stemming from the July 2017 car park assault.
New South Wales prosecutors demanded an immediate retrial. The subsequent proceedings lasted one week, anchored by pre-recorded video testimony delivered by the complainant.
| Case Parameter | Official Status |
|---|---|
| Accused | Rory Amon, 37 (Former NSW Member of Parliament) |
| Convictions | Sexual Intercourse with Child (Aged 10–14); Indecent Assault under 16 |
| Jurisdiction | New South Wales Supreme Court |
| Current Bail Status | Remained on Bail; Not Remanded Post-Verdict |
| Sentencing Date | November 27, 2024 |
Police did not take Amon into custody following the verdict. The Supreme Court allowed him to remain on conditional bail until he returns for formal sentencing proceedings on November 27.