Daily News Roundup

September 24, 2018

Image: ABC News

Fake doctor exposes serious security risks at Queensland Children’s Hospital

A fake doctor who roamed the Queensland Children’s Hospital (QCH) in Brisbane has sparked a security overhaul that included a crackdown on swipe-card access and revealed the entire CCTV network needed to be replaced.

The hospital ordered a review of its security systems after the man posed as a doctor for more than six months before being caught.

Nicholas Brett Delaney stole credentials and walked the halls of the hospital between May and December 2017.

Mr Delaney, 25, who has a mild intellectual impairment, was fined $3,000 in January this year after pleading guilty in a Brisbane court to a charge of fraud and one of entering a premises and committing an indictable offence.

The court was told Mr Delaney had not attempted to treat patients and had been “seeking friendships”, interacting with volunteers and members of the public, in public areas such as the front desk, foyer, and cafes.

The review, obtained by the ABC under right to information (RTI) laws, revealed the hospital’s entire CCTV network, including 640 security cameras, was being replaced because it was deemed “not fit for purpose”.

The hospital would not reveal to the ABC what exactly was wrong with the system, but said the replacement was needed to make the network “state-of-the-art”.

A briefing document stated the security system “was identified as a defect and commencement towards replacement occurred”.

Health Minister Steven Miles said nearly all the cameras had been replaced, and the cost covered by the company that managed the hospital’s construction in 2013-14, but the hospital would not reveal how much the replacement cost the contractor.

“My understanding is that this was agreed between the hospital and the contractor as something that needed to be rectified and therefore it has been rectified at their cost,” Mr Miles said.

“I understand that was necessary because of an upgrade to the central CCTV system.”

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US man jailed for 35 years for grooming 16yo Sydney girl online to travel overseas for sex

A 40-year-old man from the US has been sentenced to 35 years in prison, after he groomed a 16-year-old girl from Sydney on social media to travel to New York for sex.

Key points:

  • Missing Australian teenager found in New York with 40-year-old man
  • Sean Price had started talking to the teen online in spring 2016
  • Price sent the teen $US900 ($1,200) to fly to the US with the intention of engaging in sexual activity

The teenager’s parents reported her missing from her home on Sydney’s upper north shore in April last year, and she was found a month later with Sean Price in New York, where he was arrested.

Price was found guilty of four charges in December last year, including interstate and foreign enticement to engage in sexual activity, and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor.

The Federal Court in Brooklyn heard that Price had started talking to the teen online in spring 2016.

Evidence in the trial showed by January 2017, they spoke daily through messages on Facebook, where Price openly talked about the girl’s age, and his desire for her to travel to the US and to engage in sexual activity with the teenager.

Price preyed on girl’s ‘vulnerability’

Messages showed Price and the girl also discussed her getting a fake passport, with Price offering to impersonate her father to help her through airport security in the United States.

When the teenager told Price she did not need parental permission to fly internationally, he replied: “So you coming to Papa?”

The court heard Price sent $US900 ($1,200) to the teenager to fly to Los Angeles before they drove cross-country to his home in Queens, New York.

Price admitted he and the teen were involved sexually during the trip and while they were living in Queens, until she was discovered by authorities and returned to her family in Australia.

“Price lured a teenage girl across the globe to satisfy his own sordid desires, taking advantage of her youth and preying on her vulnerability,” Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent-in-Charge Angel Melendez said.

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Tiger Woods wins his first Tour victory in over five years at the Tour Championship

Tiger Woods has won his first title in five years, with a two shot victory at the Tour Championship in Atlanta on Sunday (local time), capping off a remarkable career comeback.

Woods had undergone four back surgeries, including a spinal fusion in April 2017, and there were serious doubts the 42-year-old would be able to withstand the rigours of another full season on the tour.

However Woods has surpassed expectations, coming close at both The Open in July and the PGA Championship in August, before putting together a complete tournament to win his 80th title.

“It was just a grind out there.” Woods said on the course immediately following his final putt.

“I loved every bit of it, the fight and the grind, the tough conditions.”

The crowd at East Lake were in a raucous mood, and Woods admitted to feeling emotional walking up the 18th hole, with the massed throng of spectators following him up the fairway in spectacular scenes that highlighted just what the moment meant to golf fans, and how important it was for the health of the sport.

This daily news roundup is curated with stories from ABC News.

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