Man arrested over email to ex-ABC host
A man in his 60s has been charged with sending a 'harassing, racially charged email' that 'called for violence and harm' to well-known journalist Antoinette Lattouf.
Ms Lattouf took to social media on Tuesday to reveal she went to police late last year after she received a 'harassing, racially charged email from a man I'd never met'.
'It wasn't even the most vile or threatening message I'd received, even though it called for violence and harm,' the presenter wrote.
'But I was exhausted. Frustrated. And I thought: I shouldn't have to cop this. That day, I'd had enough. So I reported it.'
Months later, NSW Police called and said they had identified the alleged perpetrator and wanted to place him under arrest.
Ms Lattouf said she 'hesitated' before making a statement to police about the alleged harassment.
'Should I go through with this? Was I scared enough? Unsafe enough? Was I worthy of police resources? Women are conditioned to endure hate and harassment. Women of colour, even more so,' she wrote online.
'Maybe he was having a bad day. Maybe he thought it was funny.'
However, the journalist said she was swayed by a 'disturbing' observation from a sergeant that 'generally speaking, (people) who are violent to women in person almost always start online'.
According to NSW Police, a 61-year-old man was arrested at a house in Lake Cathie, south of Port Macquarie on the NSW North Coast, before 7am on Tuesday.
He was charged with using a carriage service to menace/harass/offend.
Ms Lattouf welcomed the news of the arrest in her social media post.
'Also, if you're copping this abusive sh** online, report it. You shouldn't have to put up with it. We shouldn't normalise it. And as for police resources? L'Oreal it up, babes – yep, you're worth it,' she posted.
The arrest comes after a legal battle between Ms Lattouf and the ABC has made headlines in the past two weeks.
The former ABC presenter is suing her former employer over allegations she was unlawfully dismissed when she was sacked from her final two shifts while filling in as the host of ABC's Sydney Mornings in December 2023.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Yahoo
Russia launches nearly 500 drones and missiles at Ukraine during overnight bombardment
Russia launched nearly 500 drones and missiles at Ukraine late Sunday, marking the biggest overnight drone bombardment of the war, the Ukrainian Air Force reported on Monday. According to The Associated Press, the strike comes after Ukraine attacked Russian air bases on June 1. It also comes as part of the Kremlin's summer offensive amid direct peace talks, which haven't yet made any progress toward stopping the fighting. Even though the two countries haven't been able to reach a ceasefire, Ukraine and Russia swapped another batch of prisoners on Monday. Russia's overnight bombardment included 479 drones and 20 missiles of various types, which were fired at different areas of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Air Force said that barrage mainly targeted the central and western parts of the country. 'According to preliminary data, as of 10:30, air defense neutralized 479 enemy air attack vehicles, 292 were shot down by fire weapons, 187 were lost in location,' the air force said in a message, per ABC. Ukrainian officials say that only 10 drones or missiles hit their targets and one person was injured. As the strikes began, the Ukrainian air force issued a number of alerts saying Russian drones were targeting multiple areas throughout the country, according to ABC. Following these alerts, Polish and allied planes briefly scrambled in Polish airspace. Along with the recent escalation in aerial attacks, there has been a renewed Russian battlefield push along eastern and northeastern parts of the front line. According to the AP, on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 'the situation is very difficult' in some of those areas. As Russia and Ukraine fail to reach a ceasefire, the two countries have exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war — both soldiers and civilians — which is a small sign of cooperation. The latest prisoner swap occurred on Monday and the staggered exchange process is expected to continue over the coming days, per the AP. The swap included wounded soldiers and those under 25 years old. 'The process is quite complicated, there are many sensitive details, negotiations continue virtually every day,' Zelenskyy said, per BBC. Petro Yatsenko, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian body overseeing prisoners, said the Ukrainian POWs were in poor health. During their imprisonment, they lacked food and had no access to medical care. The AP reported that over 200 Ukrainian POWs have died during imprisonment since the war started in 2022.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Group of men extradited over alleged extortion attempt
Four men have been extradited after travelling interstate and allegedly holding two people hostage for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Police say a group of seven men linked to organised crime travelled from Sydney to Queensland's Sunshine Coast in April 2025 to surveil a 27-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman. The group and the 27-year-old man were known to each other, according to police. "It will be alleged that they were in a business operation, and that crime group believed that a debt (was) owed to them by this male person," Detective Inspector Chris Toohey told reporters on Monday. The group allegedly broke into a Sunshine Coast home on April 10 and took the man and woman to another apartment in Maroochydore, where they were held hostage for hours. The pair were allegedly threatened with violence if they did not pay hundreds of thousands of dollars, but were not injured. "From our investigations, they were going to be held until they paid up the sum of money they required," Det Insp Toohey said. Police were alerted to the incident when concerned friends and family members reported the man and woman missing. When specialist police arrived, five men fled the scene as officers rescued the man and woman. Two men both aged 30 were arrested at the scene and later charged with deprivation of liberty and extortion with intent to gain benefit with threat of detriment. NSW Police's Raptor Squad executed search warrants on Thursday morning across Sydney's western suburbs where they arrested four men aged 27 to 32. The four men were extradited to Queensland on Friday, charged with deprivation of liberty and extortion with intent to gain benefit with threat of detriment. A fifth man will be extradited at a later date due to unrelated medical issues. The four men faced Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday. Det Insp Toohey believes police have arrested all those responsible.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Kilmar Abrego Garcia heads back to US after wrongful deportation to El Salvador
An illegal migrant who was mistakenly deported from the US to El Salvador's notorious mega prison is on his way back to the US to face charges. Kilmar Abrego Garcia, 29, who entered the US illegally, was one of hundreds deported by Donald Trump. He will face criminal charges for allegedly transporting undocumented migrants within the US, ABC reported. The US Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to 'facilitate' Mr Abrego Garcia's return after he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March. The White House initially refused, insisting Mr Abrego Garcia is a member of the notorious South American gang MS-13, allegations his wife and lawyer have denied. Mr Abrego Garcia remained imprisoned in the notorious Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo in El Salvador. Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, said he lacked the power to return Mr Abrego Garcia, saying it would be 'preposterous' to 'smuggle a terrorist into the United States'. Mr Abrego Garcia's case dominated the news agenda in the US for a time and was seized upon by Democrats, who held it up as evidence of the cruelty of Mr Trump's mass deportation programme. In turn, Republicans claimed it proved that Democrats cared more about the welfare of an alleged gang member than the safety of the US people. Mr Abrego Garcia's wife Jennifer Vasquez has campaigned for his release, despite allegations he had previously beaten her and was once detained as part of a murder investigation. Police documents made public by Pam Bondi, the US attorney general, alleged Mr Abrego Garcia had a rank and street name with the brutal gang MS-13. He also allegedly beat Ms Vasquez in 2021, prompting her to get a restraining order against him and describe him as 'violent' in a handwritten statement. Ms Vasquez, who has since described her husband as an 'excellent father', previously told law enforcement he punched her, scratched her and ripped off her shirt. In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph in April, Gustavo Villatoro, El Salvador's justice and security minister, said there was 'no proof' Mr Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13. Mr Villatoro also suggested it was possible El Salvador could facilitate the return of Mr Abrego Garcia 'in the future' should Donald Trump request it, contrary to claims made by Mr Bukele. Ms Bondi said a grand jury had found 'Abrego Garcia had played a significant role in an alien smuggling ring', prompting an arrest warrant to be sent to El Salvador. 'They found this was his full time job, not a contractor. He was a smuggler of humans and children and women.' Mr Abrego Garcia 'abused undocumented alien females', according to co-conspirators who were under his control while transporting them throughout our country, Ms Bondi claimed. He is alleged to have trafficked firearms and narcotics throughout America on multiple occasions, the grand jury found. A co-conspirator also alleged that Mr Garcia solicited nude photographs and videos of a minor and played a role in the murder of a rival gang member. 'It is very dangerous, and they [MS-13] are living throughout our country. but no more because they are being arrested, they are being prosecuted and being convicted and deported, when appropriate,' Ms Bondi added. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said: 'Abrego Garcia is an illegal alien terrorist, gang member, and human trafficker who has spent his entire life abusing innocent people, especially women and the most vulnerable. 'Abrego Garcia will now return to the United States to answer for his crimes and meet the full force of American justice. 'The Democrat lawmakers, namely Democrat Senator Chris Van Hollen, and every single so-called 'journalist' who defended this illegal criminal abuser must immediately apologise to Garcia's victims. 'The Trump administration will continue to hold criminals accountable to the fullest extent of the.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
