Psychologist tries to back-track child abuse admissions
The 59-year-old, who cannot be legally named, is on trial in the NSW District Court for raping and molesting a 15-year-old boy in his office on the state's north coast in mid-2017.
The teen attended two counselling sessions with the clinical psychologist who has been accused of watching pornography on his phone and suggesting the youth attend a nudist beach to relieve stress.
Prosecutors have shown jurors alleged admissions made by the man to sexually abusing eight other patients, attempting to prove he had a tendency to act in a certain way.
However, the 59-year-old claims he was coerced into making the admissions in 2019 by his former lawyers at Sydney-based firm Nyman Gibson Miralis and his former barrister Michael Gleeson.
The court heard evidence on Thursday by former Nyman Gibson Miralis solicitor Penelope Baker about her then client's decision to plead guilty and sign a statement of agreed facts relating to the eight complainants.
The psychologist claimed Mr Gleeson advised that he would get a maximum jail term of eight years with a non-parole period of four-and-a-half years because of the pleas, the jury heard.
A file note from a 2020 conference with Ms Baker revealed the psychologist was "gobsmacked" that estimates for his non-parole period had been expanded to five to seven years instead.
"I was very disappointed," he said, according to the note.
"I'm feeling that he has let me down, I'm doubting everything he's done."
The psychologist was swiftly advised that if he pleaded not guilty and went to trial, he would have a very high risk of losing and receiving 10 years' minimum in prison, the jury was told.
After he requested to reverse his pleas, Ms Baker said this would be a terrible idea.
The psychologist told his lawyer he had been put into a "bad position".
"I don't appreciate being misled," he said.
After changing his legal team, he told his new barrister Nancy Mikhaiel the day before a 2020 sentence hearing that he had been "seriously misled," jurors were told.
"I can't do 10 years, it's not in me," he said, according to a legal note read to the court.
Ms Mikhaiel testified under questioning by defence barrister Anita Betts that a non-parole period of under five years was not realistic because of the admissions and number of complainants.
She said the sentence hearing was postponed and she withdrew as his counsel due to the concerns raised about the integrity of his plea.
The trial continues on Friday.
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