Inside the dramatic downfall of 'sugar daddy' plastic surgeon who lost his career, reputation and marriage

A erstwhile starring integrative surgeon who utilized sweetener daddy websites to interaction and wage girls arsenic young arsenic 13 for enactment has had 'a spectacular autumn from grace'.

Defence barrister Philip Strickland told Newcastle District Court however Richard Sackelariou, 70, had mislaid everything aft his beingness changed dramatically successful 2017 erstwhile helium had large country and was required to deterioration a colostomy container for 5 years.

Mr Strickland said Sackelariou, who had practices successful Sydney and Melbourne and was joined with 2 children, started utilizing pornography earlier visiting sweetener daddy websites aft his woman nary longer wanted to person enactment pursuing the surgery.

Sackelariou's archetypal penchant connected the sweetener daddy sites was for women aged 18-24 but adjacent erstwhile helium knew his victims were nether 18, helium continued to person enactment with them.

He paid six girls aged betwixt 13 to 15 helium had mostly met done the sites to articulation him successful edifice rooms successful Sydney, Newcastle and Queensland, betwixt September 2021 and October 2022.

He pleaded blameworthy to 10 charges, including 5 counts of causing a kid aged betwixt 14 and 18 to bash an enactment of prostitution, 1 number of utilizing a carriage work to procure idiosyncratic nether the property of 16 for intersexual enactment and 1 number of causing a kid aged 14 oregon implicit to marque kid maltreatment material.

Sackelariou agreed to plead blameworthy to the 10 charges aft the Crown dropped 30 different charges, including 8 counts of having intersexual intercourse with a kid aged betwixt 10 and 14.

Mr Strickland told a condemnation proceeding connected Tuesday that Sackelariou had been well-respected successful the assemblage earlier his arrest.

'Family, friends, career, reputation, gone. It's a spectacular autumn from grace for this man.'

Sackelariou told the tribunal helium was ashamed.

'I'm appalled astatine that person... that I created specified harm and damage,' helium said.

'I interposed myself during their intersexual development, corrupted their mean intersexual development.'

Sackelariou said statements work retired successful a closed tribunal from 2 of his victims had been horrific for him to hear.

He said his wife, who is suffering from liver cancer, had been precise upset and aggravated with him aft his apprehension and had since divorced him. His 2 sons refused to speech to him.

Questioned by authoritative Kristy Mulley, Sackelariou admitted helium ne'er thought astir however his crimes would impact his victims and their families.

Ms Mulley said: 'Even erstwhile you find retired these girls are nether 18, you continued to prosecute them.'

Sackelariou replied: 'With these individuals, that is what happened. I pursued them aft I learnt they weren't the property they stated they were.'

Sackelariou would connection to wage the girls for bare photos earlier arranging to conscionable astatine assorted edifice rooms. He would ever manus implicit the currency successful a achromatic envelope.

He offered 1 15-year-old miss from Sydney $1000 for enactment but erstwhile she refused, helium accrued the connection to $3500 for 30 minutes and they met astatine the Chatswood Quest apartments.

Sackelariou volition beryllium sentenced connected Friday.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028

Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for radical aged 5 to 25)