Robert 'Dolly' Dunn

Robert 'Dolly' Dunn
Dunn spent the last 11 years of his life in Long Bay Correctional Centre
Born
Robert Joseph Dunn

30 January 1941
Died11 July 2009 (aged 68)
Long Bay Correctional Centre, Malabar, New South Wales, Australia
OccupationSchool teacher
Criminal statusDeceased
Criminal chargeChild sexual abuse
(24 charges)
Supply cannabis
(3 charges)
Penalty20 years imprisonment
18 years non-parole period

Robert Joseph 'Dolly' Dunn (30 January 1941 – 11 July 2009[1]) was an Australian convicted child molester. He was a school teacher by profession, working for the Marist Brothers, a Catholic religious order.

Dunn taught science at Marist Catholic College Penshurst from 1971 to 1987.[1] He was initially sentenced to 30 years imprisonment in 2001, but this was reduced on appeal to 20 years with an 18-year non-parole period for 24 sexual offences against boys aged seven to 15 occurring between 1985 and 1995, and three drug charges.[2][3]

Investigation and flight

In 1996, a Royal Commission chaired by Justice James Woods was shown home videos and photographs from Dunn's collection, which included many images of child sex abuse, usually featuring Dunn himself as the perpetrator.[4] In April 1996, NSW Police forwarded a brief of evidence to the Director of Public Prosecutions, seeking approximately 28 serious criminal charges under the Crimes Act, including acts of gross indecency, homosexual intercourse with a male under the age of 10 years, and the employment of children for sex.[5]

Dunn fled Australia for Lombok in Indonesia, where he was found living with up to four men who would lure boys back to their home with gifts of clothes and cigarettes.[6] Realising he was under investigation by Australian police, he fled again to Honduras in Central America. He was tracked down to a hotel in the capital of Tegucigalpa, where he was confronted by a 60 Minutes television team in 1997.[6][4]

Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright authorised his extradition back to Australia after he was deported from Honduras to the United States.[4] He was extradited back to Australia the following year to face charges.[6]

Criminal activities and network

Dunn had a long history of abusing boys between the ages of seven and fifteen years old, often videotaping them. Usually, he would offer them money and marijuana in exchange for anal sex.[6] From jail, he repeatedly made written and verbal statements to the effect that he saw nothing wrong with sex between a man and a boy, telling a court-appointed psychologist in 2001: "I would have remorse if there was harm done. I did not do harm."[7]

He was a friend and accomplice of Australian diplomat William Stuart Brown, another convicted child molester.[8] Dunn was also connected to a paedophile ring that operated in Sydney during the 1980s. Court documents revealed that John Thomas Shiel, who was later convicted of 54 child sex offences, regularly took victims to Dunn's home for sexual abuse in exchange for money between 1984 and 1986.[9][10]

Health issues and death

In 2004, after suffering from angina, Dunn underwent coronary bypass surgery.[6] Believed to be at high risk of retaliation from other prisoners, he was isolated from the main prison population throughout his incarceration.[6]

Dunn died on 11 July 2009, aged 68, from suspected heart failure and multiple organ failure at Long Bay Prison Hospital.[6][11] As with all deaths in custody, a coronial inquest was conducted.[6] He would have been eligible for parole on 9 November 2015.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Dolly"%20Dunn%20was%20born,an%20order%20of%20Teaching%20Brothers. "Robert "Dolly" Dunn". MoodyLaw. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Notorious pedophile's sentence reduced". The Age. AAP. 21 December 2004. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  3. ^ "Jail sentence reduced for notorious paedophile". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 21 December 2004. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  4. ^ a b c Cornford, Philip (12 November 1997). "How A Hotel Room Sting Ended Manhunt For Dunn". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 16 October 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
  5. ^ "Legislative Assembly Hansard – 17 April 1996 - Police Investigation of Robert Dunn". Parliament of New South Wales. 17 April 1996. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Gardiner, Stephanie; Browne, Rachel (12 July 2009). "No tears as Dolly Dunn dies in prison". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  7. ^ Welch, Dylan; Ralston, Nick (23 December 2009). "Boy procured for pedophile ring linked to 'Dolly' Dunn". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  8. ^ Wayne Miller and Candace Sutton (18 January 2004). "Australian Quizzed over Bali Child Sex". The Sun-Herald. Retrieved 15 January 2007.
  9. ^ "Pedophile supplied kids to Dolly Dunn". The Australian. AAP. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  10. ^ "Paedophile ring member faces sentencing". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  11. ^ "Sex offender Robert 'Dolly' Dunn dies in jail". The Australian. 11 July 2009. Archived from the original on 14 July 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.