r/wollongong • u/MeanPapaya1715 • 2d ago

Does anyone know what this is about?

Post image

Quite concerning, I am a thirroul local and wondering if anyone knows anything about this?

55 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

37 comments sorted by

58

u/Goodgravy111 2d ago

"With no prior criminal record, Gorsuch's "strong" community ties and the number of files "towards the lower end", defence lawyer Zarli Kelly said jail was not inevitable for her client"

So he's a paedophile but on the milder end of the paedophile spectrum? Wtf?

47

u/lomo_dank 2d ago

Literally thousands of files, and that pile of shit lawyer describes it on the “lower end”…. ONE file is too many.

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u/Goodgravy111 2d ago

I'd like to see defence lawyers like this liable when their clients inevitably re-offend. 

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u/ScaffOrig 2d ago

Absolutely not. They are making the case that he is not guilty. They are not saying he's a good person, they're not his friend. Every single one of us deserves to have that defence. 

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u/ltwolfenstien 2d ago

I think the judges that give slap on the wrist sentences should bear repercussions. Like the rapist in canberra who got a suspended sentence cause he was a migrant and didn't know it was illegal

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u/Goodgravy111 2d ago

Did you read the article? The lawyer isn't arguing he's innocent. She's arguing that he's a low-risk offender who can be released into the community.

My point is broader anyway. If lawyers advocate for the release of admitted sex offenders or rapists who then reoffend, why shouldn't they bear some responsibility? What is their ethical responsibility here?

And obviously this is a hypothetical opinion about accountability, not a law I'm personally proposing to enforce. 🙄

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u/ScaffOrig 2d ago

You seem to be under the impression that they are vouching for them personally, or that they believe them. They aren't telling you what they believe or communicating their preference. They are presenting an alternative that we should need to reject to prosecute. If no-one offers a different perspective of events, where is the judgment?

Their job is part of the process. They are there to complete the argument and evidence required to make a fair judgement. They are as vital as the prosecution. Without the defence we have a one sided argument and can never have any certainty that justice has prevailed. When someone argues against the prosecution, we gain confidence that we have heard the whole argument.

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u/Goodgravy111 2d ago edited 2d ago

I'm well aware of what a defence lawyer does. Explaining the justice system to me doesn't actually address my argument.

The right to legal representation is not the same as the right to be free from moral scrutiny. 

We can uphold the right to legal representation while questioning the ethics of people who CHOOSE (and it is a choice) to make a living defending paedophiles and advocating for their release.

Nobody is obliged to build a career arguing that people who have admitted to serious sexual offences pose an acceptable risk to the community.

And once again I'm expressing a moral opinion, not rewriting the legal system. I'm not sure why that's so difficult to grasp.

3

u/lurker409 2d ago

Respectfully, your argument is all over the place and you sound like a dick. You are ignoring the fundamental difference between morals and ethics.

Advocating for bail or a lower sentence isn’t the same as personally asserting the accused is safe; the court decides that.

Criticising how a solicitor runs a case is fair. Criticising the fact they take it on makes no sense.

You can be critical of her statement to media all you like, but what would you like her to say? "Yes he's a paedophile lock him up throw away the key". Great, she's just breached about 5 of her professional obligations.

Her ethical obligations are to the court, and her client. Not to you. Maybe keep your "moral opinion" to the accused paedophile, instead of the regular joe just doing her job, which is difficult enough. You might need her help one day.

0

u/Goodgravy111 2d ago

Jfc, it was a throwaway comment about people who choose to defend paedophiles and advocate for their release. A response to someone who called the lawyer a piece of shit. The amount of assumption and inference going on here is ridiculous.

You've constructed an entire argument I never made about denying people legal representation or expecting lawyers to breach their professional obligations.

And yeah I do think there is a MORAL aspect to EVERYONE'S job. And no I don't anticipate needing legal representation for accessing child abuse material.

3

u/ScaffOrig 2d ago

It's easy to grasp, it just has no coherence. You recognise that legal defence is required for justice to function fairly, but you want to prosecute, or at least morally judge, people who play that role that is required for a morally sound legal system. 

Again, you are conflating the alleged actions/behaviour of the accused with the role of the lawyer. The lawyer is morally obliged to defend his/her client to the best of their ability because they MUST test the evidence of the state. If they do not, and we have a special case because of the crime, we will not achieve a sound conviction.

Their comment is not stating their opinion, it is testing the assertion of the nature of the crime. And that needs to be tested so we can get it right. That is the morally right thing to do: when we inflict violence or remove freedoms from individuals, as a society, we obliged ourselves to get it right.

1

u/maddoglee 23h ago

The judge or jury should bear responsibility. Not the defence lawyer

1

u/Blonde_arrbuckle 2d ago

Everyone deserves a defence however the sentence part is a joke. Too light even when found guilty

2

u/Crazy_Treat_8805 2d ago

It’s Reddit mate. NO FACTS ALLOWED

2

u/Ticklechickenchow 2d ago

This is so Australian.

13

u/[deleted] 2d ago

Calvin Gabriel Gorsuch - who owns Ohana Home Thirroul

From the article

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u/LeClubNerd 2d ago

To be fair, it's paywalled and The Mockery ain't worth paying for.

5

u/Blonde_arrbuckle 2d ago

Archive.is

7

u/laid2rest 2d ago

Type paywall into Google and try each site until one works

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u/Motor_Psychology_113 2d ago

Whoever downvoted you is a gimp. The Mercury is a terrible organisation, most people would support skipping a paywall in this context.

3

u/Kristos711 1d ago

Type ‘archive.md’ into google and copy the link into the search bar and will open the full story past the paywall

4

u/MeanPapaya1715 2d ago

I can’t read it but just found out about paywall! Thank you guys

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u/actgan_mind 2d ago

“A Thirroul businessman will remain behind bars after he was allegedly caught with a trove of child abuse material featuring “very young boys”.
Calvin Gabriel Gorsuch – who owns Ohana Home Thirroul – sat quietly in an audio-visual cell from Wollongong Police Station as he was refused bail at court on October 15.
The 27-year-old Woonona resident has been charged with two counts of using a carriage service to make available child abuse material and one count of possessing child abuse material.

In opposing bail, Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions lawyer Kate Gauld described the matters as “very, very serious” with a high probability of resulting in jail time, should Gorsuch be convicted.
The court heard among the files seized by police on October 14, there were allegedly over 2,500 videos and photos of “very young boys” being abused.
Some of the material is believed to involve depictions of violence and sexual intercourse, with some clips over five minutes in length.
“It’s a strong case, the accused has made admissions,” Ms Gauld said.
Gorsuch is also alleged to have sent and received over 25 files on Telegram, with some material still in a cloud server and yet to be examined by police.
Ms Gauld argued this detail raised significant concerns for the prosecution, citing the potential for evidence to be destroyed from any device capable of accessing the internet.
With no prior criminal record, Gorsuch’s “strong” community ties and the number of files “towards the lower end”, defence lawyer Zarli Kelly said jail was not inevitable for her client as she put forward a number of intensive bail conditions.
These included house arrest, rehabilitation and no devices.
Ms Kelly submitted that Gorsuch will not be able to maintain his role in the operations of Ohana Home given “the nature” of it, with relatives and older staff expected to run it in his absence.
“It’s certainly accepted these are really serious offences, however I submit the risks can be mitigated,” Ms Kelly said.
“The frankness in which Mr Gorsuch spoke to police demonstrates a desire to rehabilitate, which is best done in the community.”
Ultimately, Judge Te’res Sia sided with the prosecution in determining there were no bail conditions available that could mitigate Gorsuch’s risk to evidence and prosecution witnesses.
“I’m not the sentencing judge today but if I were to conduct the sentencing exercise, the defendant would need to persuade me why full time jail is not an inevitable outcome,” Judge Sia said.
“At the end of the day, the nature of the offending and the access to materials via the cloud from any location, on an internet-ready device cannot in my view be supervised 24 hours a day, let alone by the police.”
Gorsuch will remain behind bars with his next court appearance adjourned to a date in December.
“

3

u/treeasurechest 2d ago

Thirroul business owner allegedly caught with videos of 'very young...
7 hours ago — A Thirroul business owner was refused bail after police allegedly found thousands of child abuse files in his possession.

1

u/treeasurechest 2d ago

A Thirroul business owner was refused bail after police allegedly found child abuse material. [1]
Bail Status: Denied bail following court proceedings reported on October 15, 2026.
Charges: Accused of possessing child abuse material.

1

u/waxedmerkin Gym Bro 1d ago

Bypass Paywalls Clean is your friend, has info on how to install it on various computer browsers IOS & windows etc , along with instructions for mobile based browsers Android/IOS

Perhaps you need to run a 2nd browser if worried

your search term should be bypass paywalls clean magnolia1234

1

u/ctch23 Palm trees deserve to be up a pole 2h ago

Where is it so I know not to take my son there

1

u/Harro_will 2d ago

Which business do they own?

-1

u/Crazy_Treat_8805 2d ago

I’m not sure

-21

u/Ceiling_crack 2d ago

I absolutely love how you've added extra context and information about this.

5

u/MeanPapaya1715 2d ago

lol sorry this is all I know and am curious

-2

u/Pitiful-Oven-5839 2d ago

It’s paywalled. Are you buy curious?