Lions official stripped of Aust medal
A senior Lions Club official has been stripped of his Australian honour.
Governor-General Peter Cosgrove has cancelled Bede Alphonsus Long's medal of the Order of Australia in the general division, the government gazette says.
Long, the former district governor of the Sydney district of the Lions Club, was convicted in Parramatta Local Court in October 2013 of indecent assault.
The 72-year-old had pleaded not guilty to the charges, which related to his groping of two female staff members at a funeral home where he was operations manager in 2011.
Senior federal Liberal MP Philip Ruddock provided a character reference for Long during the case.
Long received the honour in 2006 for services to the community through the Lions Club.
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