A former senior government adviser who represented himself while facing trial for more than a dozen child sex crimes is pleading for a taxpayer-funded lawyer now that he's been found guilty.
asserted
he → represent → lawyer
Craig Munnings could not be identified for seven years while he was repeatedly tried for sexually abusing two girls, after a clerical error led to a suppression order mistakenly preventing publication of his name.
uncertain
order → identify → name
Munnings served as an adviser to NSW Labor ministers Ian Macdonald, John Aquilina, Di Beamer and Harry Woods during a 12-year political career in and around Macquarie Street.
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Munnings → serve → Street
The 61-year-old married father-of-two, from Woy Woy on the Central Coast, is also an ordained Anglican minister who once ran unsuccessfully as a Labor local government candidate.
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who → ordain → candidate
Daily Mail can reveal that despite the paedophile spending the past two months in custody, his company Crakyl Pty Ltd is still listed on The Lobbyists Register, granting him access to political decision-makers.
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company → reveal → makers
That entry states Crakyl's employees - Munnings and his wife Kylie - are 'authorised to communicate and meet with NSW Government Officials for the purpose of lobbying'.
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employees → state → lobbying
Munnings had repeatedly been set to stand trial as early as 2020, only for proceedings to be continually pushed back or aborted after they commenced.
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they → set → 2020
At various times during that costly process he claimed to have prostate cancer, to have suffered a heart attack and to require heart surgery.
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he → claim → surgery
Craig Munnings, a former senior government adviser who represented himself while facing trial for more than a dozen child sex crimes, is pleading for a taxpayer-funded lawyer now that he's been found guilty.
asserted
he → represent → lawyer
Munnings is pictured
Munnings (above) could not be identified for seven years while he was repeatedly tried for sexually abusing two girls, after a clerical error led to a suppression order mistakenly preventing publication of his name
In a final desperate plea to delay justice, Munnings swallowed a bottle of painkillers at the bar table in Gosford District Court after he was found guilty.
uncertain
he → picture → Court
Munnings has represented himself since about 2022 but when he appeared via audio-visual link from Parklea prison last Thursday, he confirmed he was seeking Legal Aid ahead of his sentencing.
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he → represent → sentencing
Back in Gosford District Court, Judge David Wilson greeted the prisoner when he appeared on screen by saying: 'Mr Munnings.
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he → greet → Munnings
Munnings replied, 'I'm fair.
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I → reply → ?
The perverted predator then said he had asked for Legal Aid 'probably five weeks ago' but had not heard if his application had been assessed.
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application → say → Aid
'The other thing I should add is I still haven't had a pre-sentence report complied,' he told Judge Wilson.
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he → add → Wilson
'So that should be undertaken as a matter of some urgency I believe.'
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I → undertake → urgency
Munnings has always denied sexually assaulting his two victims - one of whom was just 10 when the abuse began - in the mid-1980s and early 1990s.
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abuse → deny → mid-1980s
He was charged in February 2019 and a non-publication order was mistakenly made over his name when he faced court for the first time the following month.
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he → charge → time
For the past seven years, Munnings (above) has lived free in the community while facing accusations he sexually abused two girls, and has even travelled overseas (above)
Munnings worked for NSW Labor ministers Ian Macdonald, John Aquilina, Di Beamer and Harry Woods during a 12-year political career.
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Munnings → live → career
NSW Parliament House is pictured
That order should have covered only the names of the two sexual assault victims or anything which might tend to identify them.
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which → picture → them
But when entered into Justicelink, the digital electronic case management system used across NSW courts, the order had erroneously included Munnings.
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order → enter → Munnings
'The name of the defendant was temporarily suppressed in a clerical error that has now been rectified,' a spokesman for the NSW Local Court said.
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spokesman → suppress → Court
Daily Mail understands that when the error emerged during Munnings's final trial, a decision was made to leave it in place until the hearing had finished.
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hearing → understand → place
Munnings pleaded not guilty to nine counts of sexual assault, four of aggravated indecent assault of a victim under 16, and one of carnal knowledge of a girl aged between 10 and 16.
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Munnings → plead → 10
Trial dates were set nine times between August 2020 and July 2026.
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dates → set → August
A jury in one of three aborted trials was discharged after the Crown raised concerns Munnings's opening address was prejudicial.
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address → abort → concerns
Another trial began on July 6 but was aborted the next day when two of 14 jurors could not continue.
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jurors → begin → July
A fresh jury was empanelled on July 8 and that final trial ran for a month.
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trial → empanel → month
The victims' evidence and their cross-examination by a barrister acting on Munnings's behalf had been recorded for his first scheduled trial in 2020 and was tendered again for each hearing.
Munnings was found guilty of 14 child sex offences at Gosford District Court (above) on August 7, after which the suppression order over his name was lifted
While on bail, Munnings continued operating his consultancy businesses and even travelled overseas before being found guilty of all 14 child sex offences on August 7.
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Munnings → act → August
It took a jury four hours and 46 minutes of deliberations to reach their unanimous verdicts.
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It → take → verdicts
As the jury foreman began reading out the panel's findings, a female court officer saw that Munnings had upended a bottle of pills into his mouth.
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Munnings → begin → mouth
According to a witness who was watching the proceedings via an audio-visual link, the court officer said words to the effect of, 'Stop! Don't take those!'
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words → accord → those
The court officer then rushed to the bar table and asked Munnings, 'What was that?' as Judge Gordon Lerve turned from the jury and looked at the offender.
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Lerve → rush → offender
When Munnings said, 'It's just my prescription medication, my painkillers', the court officer replied, 'But you've taken the whole bottle.'
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you → say → bottle
Munnings, who claimed to have swallowed only three tablets, told Judge Lerve, 'My feet are giving me pain so I needed to take these pills.'
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I → claim → pills
The jury foreman resumed delivering the guilty verdicts but when Judge Lerve spoke to Munnings he was slurring his words, according to the witness.
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he → resume → witness
Munnings had repeatedly been set to stand trial as early as 2020, only for proceedings to be continually pushed back or aborted after commencing.
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proceedings → set → commencing
After proposals to remove the suppression order and revoke Munnings's bail were raised, Judge Lerve took an early lunch adjournment.
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Lerve → remove → adjournment
When the court reassembled, a sheriff told Judge Lerve that during the break Munnings had been seen with an empty unmarked pill bottle, falling asleep in his chair.
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Munnings → reassemble → chair
Fearing Munnings had overdosed on the painkillers, authorities contacted the NSW Poisons Information Centre and he was taken by ambulance to hospital.
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he → fear → hospital
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
