Melbourne Magistrate Peter Mealy convicted veteran Australian actress Maggie Kirkpatrick of sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl in 1984, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. Kirkpatrick, known for her role in the Australian cult soap opera "Prisoner," was found guilty on three charges involving an incident of child molestation in her home more than 30 years ago.
At the time of the abuse, the victim was a psychiatric patient and 13-year-old fan of Kirkpatrick's work in "Prisoner," as previously reported by HNGN. The victim was invited to Kirkpatrick's home after being introduced by a TV agent who was also a patient at the victim's psychiatric hospital. The sexual act occurred in the upstairs bedroom of Kirkpatrick's house after the two shared a meal together.
Kirkpatrick denied the charges, but Magistrate Mealy said that he believed the victim was telling the truth. She was found guilty on two counts of indecent assault and one count of gross indecency on a person under 16, according to Reuters.
Mealy said that while he found Kirkpatrick to be guilty, she had no history of offense, local TV news station 9News reported. He also said that this was a single incident lasting a short duration of time and did not include physical violence.
Justin Hannebery, Kirkpatrick's defense council, fought against prison time and instead pleaded for a non-custodial sentence for his client, Reuters reported.
"She's of good character," Hannebery argued in court, according to 9News. "She's been acting for 54 years and has just finished a seven-year run of wicked."
Kirkpatrick is scheduled to return in court on Friday for a sentencing hearing.
