A “heroic” whistleblower accused of leaking information about one of Australia’s worst pedophiles has been acquitted, sparking claims she should never have been charged.
Yolanda Borucki, 59, broke down in tears after being found not guilty of computer hacking by a Brisbane magistrate on Friday as supporters clapped.
Prominent advocate Hetty Johnston also came out in support, taking aim at authorities for pursuing Ms Borucki after she warned about notorious pedophile Ashley Paul Griffith.
Ms Borucki is a former colleague of Queensland childcare worker Griffith, who received a life sentence in November after pleading guilty to hundreds of sexual offences spanning almost 20 years.
She was accused of accessing confidential records at a care centre in August 2023 from her Brisbane home and sending them to a reporter at the Nine Network’s A Current Affair.
Ms Borucki had previously appeared on the program, saying she had notified authorities almost two years previously in relation to Griffith’s inappropriate behaviour towards young children.
After the report went to air, Ms Borucki was charged with using a restricted computer service and causing more than $5000 in detriment to her former employer.
She pleaded not guilty to the charge when the matter went to trial in Brisbane Magistrates Court.
Ms Johnston from Safeguarding People Australia hit out at Ms Borucki’s former employer and police for taking action against the whistleblower.
“There should be no policy that seeks to cover up exposure, actioning or inappropriate alleged sexual assaults in a workplace or that would otherwise silence a whistleblower,” she told AAP.
“I commend her for having the courage making sure that info couldn’t be concealed despite the ugly truth of what has happened resulting in trauma for the families involved.”
Defence lawyer Ron Belahu said a case should never have been brought against Ms Borucki “let alone pursued so vigorously” by her former employer and police.
“Her actions were heroic,” he told reporters outside court.
“She has suffered immeasurably through the prosecution process and is now obviously very relieved.
“She looks forward to any inquiry conducted by the authorities to shed light on how Australia’s worst pedophile was permitted to work with children for such a long period and to those who enabled this to occur.”
Ms Borucki had been accused of sending almost 20 emails including a copy of an internal investigation into inappropriate conduct allegations regarding Griffith at the childcare centre.
Magistrate Kerrie O’Callaghan found Ms Borucki not guilty and dismissed the charges because it had not been proven beyond reasonable doubt she had used a work computer to send the emails.
She found the prosecution failed to prove Ms Borucki did not have permission to send the emails or that it would cause financial detriment.
Prosecutors argued that in disclosing the information Ms Borucki caused psychological harm to relevant families.
They relied on the oral evidence of a parent who saw the Nine Network program and became “distressed” because she was unaware of the details of the conduct concerning the child.
“This does not establish beyond reasonable doubt that Ms Borucki’s actions if proven, caused psychological harm to the relevant families,” the magistrate said.
“The prosecution has failed to prove the elements of the offence beyond reasonable doubt – I find Ms Borucki not guilty and the charges dismissed.”
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