Bob Montgomery is a prominent Australian former psychologist who was imprisoned for sexually abusing boys.

Career

Montgomery was a scoutmaster until 1965 when Scouts New South Wales ended his membership due to concerns raised by parents. He was a psychiatric inpatient for several months afterwards. He then studied psychology at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

while working as a schoolteacher. In 1972, he moved to Melbourne and helped establish the psychology department at

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria an ...

, where he ran a sex therapy clinic which was equipped with a double bed for research purposes. His lectures included lengthy footage of couples having sex, and students were made to replicate the controversial

Milgram experiment The Milgram experiment(s) on obedience to authority figures were a series of social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram. They measured the willingness of study participants, 40 men in the age range ...

. After failing to become head of department, he left the university to run a private practice. In 1994, he became head of the psychology department at

Bond University Bond University is Australia's first private not-for-profit university and is located in Robina, a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland. Since its founding on 15 May 1989, Bond University has primarily been a teaching-focused higher ed ...

after being recruited by criminologist Paul Wilson, who was later convicted of child sex offences. Montgomery often appeared on radio and television, including as a guest expert on the first season of

Big Brother Australia ''Big Brother Australia'' (also known simply as ''Big Brother'') is an Australian reality show based on the international '' Big Brother'' format created by John de Mol. Following the premise of other versions of the format, the show feature ...

. He was president of the

Australian Psychological Society The Australian Psychological Society (APS) is one of the professional associations for psychologists in Australia. The APS had more than 27,000 members in 2005, making it the largest professional body representing psychologists in Australia at ...

from about 2008 to 2010. As a private consultant, he prepared reports for the

Family Court Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plaintif ...

about whether allegations of sexual abuse raised during child custody disputes were credible. He also assessed the risk of paedophiles molesting children who were under the care of the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended fr ...

Arrest and conviction

Montgomery was arrested in January 2019 for offences he committed in the 1960s in the Sydney suburbs of Edgecliff and

Marrickville Marrickville is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Marrickville is located south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the largest suburb in the Inner West Council local gove ...

. The victims were three 12-year-old boys in his scout troop, and a student at a high school where he taught. Montgomery pleaded guilty to charges of indecent assault and buggery. In December 2020, he was sentenced to four years' jail with a non-parole period of 12 months. The judge took into account that Montgomery has dementia and is expected to live about four more years. Montgomery and his wife, fellow psychologist Laurel Morris, were living at Runaway Bay on Queensland's Gold Coast at the time of his arrest. He was 76 years old.

Bibliography

(co-authored with Laurel Morris) * ''Living With Anxiety: A Clinically Tested Step-By-Step Plan for Drug-Free Management (2001) * ''Surviving: Coping With A Life Crisis'' (2000) * ''Your Good Health: A Whole Health Program to Live Healthier, Live Happier, and Live Longer'' (1995, 2nd edition) *''Successful Sex'' (1992) * ''Getting on with the Oldies: Better Relationships with Parents and Other Adults'' (1990) * ''Getting on with Your Teenagers'' (1990)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, Bob Living people Australian people convicted of child sexual abuse Australian psychologists Year of birth missing (living people)