Orkopoulos sentenced to 13 years jail

Former NSW Labor minister Milton Orkopoulos, convicted of child sex and drug offences, has been sentenced to at least nine years and three months in jail by a Newcastle court.

Orkopoulos, 50, was found guilty by a jury in March of 28 offences, and pleaded guilty to two other charges at the outset of his trial.

In the Newcastle District Court on Wednesday, Judge Ralph Coolahan set a maximum jail term of 13 years and 11 months for the former Aboriginal affairs minister.

Judge Coolahan spent more than an hour detailing the former MP's crimes which date between 1995 and 2006 and involved the grooming of three young boys with drugs and alcohol in exchange for sex.

He said Orkopoulos used his position of authority and power to win the trust of his victims and introduced one to heroin, an act which he described as "a very serious offence".

"His conduct was premeditated, predatory and manipulative with far reaching impacts," Judge Coolahan told the court.

Sporting grey stubble and struggling to keep his eyes open, the former Aboriginal affairs minister was pale as he took his seat in the dock.

All three of his victims and a number of their family and friends were present in court to learn the former MP's fate.

A number of Orkopoulos' family members also sat in the public gallery.

"The offender was frequently arrogant and often flippant in his evidence and made a number of claims which were patently false."

The judge said significant periods of fulltime imprisonment were the only appropriate sentences for such serious crimes.

Ensuring Orkopoulos was adequately punished, the community was protected and his actions denounced by way of general deterrence were more important considerations than his rehabilitation, the judge said.

© AAP 21 May 2008

He is sentenced to 13 years, but the question remains, when will the justice system let the public down and release him for... wait for it "good behaviour??". There is no rehabilitation for people like this. It's in their blood. Even if you give them a transfusion, it'll still be within them.