Patrick John Piers Power (born 12 May 1952) is a former

Senior Counsel The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel (post-nominal letters: SC) is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdicti ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He was Deputy Senior Crown

Prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

at the NSW Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). In May 2007, he was convicted of possessing child pornography.

Early life

According to ''Who's Who in Australia,'' Power was educated at

Barker College , motto_translation = Seek Honour above Rewards , location = Hornsby, Sydney , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Sydney , pushpin_image ...

in Hornsby, an

Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

school. He lived in

Turramurra Turramurra is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council. It shares the postc ...

during his formative years and Power obtained his law degree at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

, his master's degree 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 ...

and accomplished an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

. He returned to Sydney University to work on his PhD and he completed his PhD thesis at the ANU on comparative restorative justice practice.

Legal career

Power was admitted as a barrister and worked for 16 years as a prosecutor in serious criminal cases (including sex cases). He was also the chairperson of the New South Wales Youth Justice Advisory Committee and Power was instrumental in promoting and helping draft the Young Offenders Act 1997 (NSW) which instituted restorative justice conferencing for young offenders. He was a consultant to the New South Wales Government on the implementation of restorative justice processes for adults.

Arrest and conviction

On 3 July 2006, Patrick Power requested the information technology department of his office to repair his personal computer which had been experiencing technical problems. During repairs, the technician examining the computer discovered a sub-directory (folder) containing evidence of files associated with

child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a chi ...

including 31 video files and links to additional material on a removable hard drive. The technician notified his superiors and Power was subsequently arrested on 6 July 2006. Power pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography during his court appearance at Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court.

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

n chief Crown prosecutor Jeremy Rapke said Power had collected in excess of 29,000 pornographic images including 433 pictures and 31 videos depicting children. 59 members of the community, including defence barristers and prosecutors, provided references of Power's good character to the court.

Sentencing and release

On 9 May 2007, Power was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, to serve a minimum of eight months, but was released on bail when his lawyers lodged an appeal against sentence. The appeal was dismissed on 14 June 2007 and Power was imprisoned for seven months. The

New South Wales Bar Association The New South Wales Bar Association is a professional body of lawyers responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The body administers the bar examination in accordance with the Legal Profe ...

sought to have ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' prosecuted for

contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...

, contending that it published Powers' referees' names in order to "humiliate, pillory and thus punish people for the simple fact of providing material by way of references." The complaint was withdrawn after the Telegraph published an apology. Power's practicing certificate was suspended by the

. He was released from gaol on 18 January 2008. On 17 June 2008, the New South Wales Court of Appeal found Patrick Power guilty of professional misconduct, that he was not a fit and proper person to remain on the Roll of Legal Practitioners, and that his name be removed from the Roll of Legal Practitioners.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Power, Patrick Australian Senior Counsel 1952 births Australian barristers Living people Australian male criminals Lawyers from Sydney University of New South Wales alumni Australian National University alumni People educated at Barker College People convicted of child pornography offenses Disbarred lawyers Crime in Oceania Sexual violence in Oceania