Ex-MP 'posed as 17-year-old' to meet 13-year-old boy, court hears

Warning: This story contains details and content that some readers may find distressing.

A former Liberal MP shaved 10 years off his age when he used a gay hook-up app to meet a 13-year-old boy who he then sexually abused, prosecutors have alleged.

Roderick "Rory" Amon, 35, is accused of sexually assaulting the 13-year-old boy he knew on Sydney's Northern Beaches in 2017.

He was a 27-year-old local councillor at the time but posed as a 17-year-old boy after meeting the boy on the dating website Squirt, prosecutors said in court documents.

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The teen says he told Amon he was 15 when they exchanged explicit content on Snapchat before they agreed to meet in person.

When they met, Amon allegedly led the boy to a bathroom in a car park and closed the door.

"Have you ever done something like this before?" he asked, according to the crown claims.

Prosecutors allege that when the 13-year-old replied he hadn't, Amon said "good" before kissing him and engaging him in oral sex.

During a subsequent second meeting in the same bathroom, Amon is accused of sexually assaulting the teen multiple times, leaving the boy feeling overwhelmed and repulsed.

The 13-year-old said Amon continued to send him explicit images until he was charged over the alleged child sexual abuse in August 2024.

Amon is awaiting trial after pleading not guilty to 10 charges, including five counts of sexual intercourse with a person over the age of 10 and under 14.

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The now-35-year-old former state MP for Pittwater faced Sydney's Downing Centre District Court on Wednesday to vary his bail conditions to allow him to live in Potts Point, in Sydney's east.

The court was told he signed the lease in January, but only notified his lawyers that he would need to change his residence in February.

His barrister Claire O'Neill accepted the sequence of events wasn't ideal but argued it was a consequence of the tight Sydney rental market.

She said there is "nothing nefarious" about her client wanting to move homes to an area where the complainant doesn't work or live.

Amon had been looking for a new home because he is well known in Sydney's Northern Beaches and has faced difficulties living there, the court was told.

Prosecutors noted the complainant works near Potts Point and often socialises in the area.

In a statement to the court, the complainant wrote that allowing Amon to move to the area would be "personally catastrophic" for him.

He raised concerns for his safety as a result of Amon's behaviour during the years-long investigation into his complaint.

Judge David Scully agreed the risk was too high that Amon could run into the alleged victim and cause psychological distress.

The former MP is set to lose several thousand dollars by breaking his lease, the court was told.

He resigned from the NSW Liberal Party after the allegations against him became public.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).