A convicted pony pedophile will remain free in the community after something is revealed in court.
A convicted pedophile will remain at large in the community after being released on bail to undergo cancer screening.
Neil Duncan, 67, was convicted in June of eight counts of sexually touching girls between the ages of 10 and 16 between 2018 and 2020 when he was president of the Cobargo Pony Club on the south coast of NSW.
Furious parents, police and prosecutors demanded that he be sent to prison for his unhealthy acts.
However, the NSW Supreme Court was told on Monday that the 67-year-old had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and is undergoing further tests to see if he also has bowel cancer.
Duncan clashed Monday in the Supreme Court, where Crown prosecutors requested that he be arrested before his conviction on August 5th.
Crown prosecutor David Morters SC told the court that Duncan’s medical conditions explained “special and exceptional” circumstances for being on bail, as he is on strict bail.
“The Crown should accept that we would come to the conclusion that the balance sheet is in its favor,” Morters told the court.
Defense attorney Richard Pontello SC revealed in court that Duncan had to undergo surgery on Sept. 20 to remove the prostate and was seeking to reverse his sentence.
Judge Robyn Tupman granted him bail on Queanbeyan District Court on June 2, despite his conviction.
As part of his bail conditions, Duncan is not allowed to attend pony club events in two regions of NSW.
He has also been banned from leaving his family’s stallion farm in Timbumburi, on the outskirts of Tamworth, unless he is in the company of a family member.
The maximum prison sentence for each of the eight charges carries 10 years in prison.