Sex offending youth worker Fale McCarthy avoids jail by claiming he has a church job in Melbourne: Church denies hiring him

A woman who was 16 when she was indecently assaulted by an Auckland youth worker is furious he has avoided jail to return to his family in Melbourne - after he claimed in court he had a job there with the Uniting Church.

However, the church denies hiring Australian man Fale McCarthy, 39, who has been convicted of indecent assault against two women in 2014.

He was sentenced in Auckland District Court last week after a trial in July last year.

Fale McCarthy leaves the Auckland District Court. Photo / Jason Dorday

One of McCarthy’s victims has spoken to the Herald about the impact of McCarthy’s offending on her in which he sucked her toes in exchange for money as part of a “ruse to take advantage of [her] vulnerability”.

The victim claims far more serious allegations against McCarthy never made it to court.

“I believe I tried everything within my control to fight against this monster and if the system couldn’t hear the fight, hurt and trauma behind all of it and give what was due... then I’ll take the conviction because that’s a black mark for the rest of his life against his name,” the woman, who has name suppression, said.

On February 26, Judge David Sharp sentenced McCarthy to nine months supervision, 100 hours of community work and $1000 emotional harm reparations to each of his victims.

McCarthy escaped jail or home detention by arguing he needed to reunite with his partner and child in Melbourne, Victoria, and he had been offered new employment as a youth worker with the Uniting Church.

But the Uniting Church in Australia has confirmed to the Herald they have no record of McCarthy having anything to do with the Victorian branch of the church.

“It is the Uniting Church’s policy that we would not employ anyone with a criminal conviction of sexual assault or any form of child sexual abuse,” Uniting Church communications manager Karin Kleynhans said.

McCarthy admitted the charge of indecent assault against his 16-year-old victim in December 2014.

Before the assault, McCarthy asked the 16-year-old if her mother read her messages, to which she said ‘no’.

Judge Sharp said this reflected a degree of “premeditation” in the offending.

“You told her you had a bet with other friends whereby the first person to film themselves sucking another person’s toes would win the pot [of money],” Judge Sharp described in court.

“She agreed because she wanted money as promised by yourself. You took her into her older brother’s room, took off her shoes and socks and begun to suck her toes for around three minutes.

“Then you hugged her from behind and said ‘thank you’.”

His victim has described McCarthy as “extremely dangerous” and a “predator” who demonstrated no remorse in his attempts to obtain a discharge without conviction.

She cites the multiple allegations against McCarthy that did not become charges as evidence of much more widespread offending.

“Twenty-two women went to the police but because he operated in the ‘grey’ areas of sexual/indecent assault, many of the testimonies were inadmissible which was incredibly heartbreaking,” she claimed.

McCarthy was also convicted of another indecent assault in July 2014 against another woman - a charge he did not plead guilty to.

McCarthy was out drinking with a group of people and got in a car with the victim who was “heavily intoxicated” and two others.

The woman fell asleep and woke up about 15 minutes later with her head on McCarthy’s lap.

McCarthy moved his hand up the woman’s bare thigh under her skirt and “squeezed just short of the bottom” and then moved his hand and began to stick his fingers beneath her underwear and “attempted to touch [the woman’s] bare genitalia”.

McCarthy also has a history of working with youth in New Zealand.

His LinkedIn professional profile online describes him as a youth worker at Crosspower Ministries Trust.

However, the charities register says Crosspower Ministries Trust was disestablished in 2017, and the link to its website is no longer valid.

He has also been involved with a competitive youth dance group.

In a 2009 article, McCarthy is identified as a coach in Streetdance NZ - a group heading to a hip-hop dance world championship in Las Vegas.

McCarthy is also a DJ, with several tracks on a Soundcloud profile online.

Defence lawyer Rasyad Ismail argued that McCarthy should avoid home detention or a jail sentence because he has “largely lived in Australia” and would be unable to return to his partner, who he has recently reunited with, and his child in Melbourne.

McCarthy initially faced several other charges for historic sexual offending against women in Auckland - some of which did not go to trial.

Ismail argued McCarthy should be given a discharge without conviction. Both victims opposed this.

“If convicted today, Mr McCathy’s life, as he knows it, is over,” Ismail said.

“There is a real and appreciable risk that he will not be able to reunite with his son and partner in Australia, that both of them will be left in the lurch in so far as any potential financial assistance.

“He may be able to provide in Australia as a person that’s going to be gainfully employed.”

Ismail said that since McCarthy’s last sworn affidavit, he had been offered employment by the Uniting Church as a youth engagement lead dealing with at-risk youth in the Melbourne district.

Judge Sharp described this development as “double edged” with McCarthy being in a position of responsibility with younger people and these offences include him taking advantage of youth in one case.

“There is a school of thought that the people who hired him need to know this aspect of his character exists,” Sharp said.

Ismail said the Uniting Church was aware of McCarthy’s offending but no proof could be supplied to Judge Sharp.

When the Herald subsequently presented the statement from the Uniting Church of Australia that they had no knowledge of McCarthy being employed with them, Ismail opposed the publication of these details because: “in the absence of any formal investigation/findings [it] would be pre-empting the outcome and may be incongruent with the administration of justice”.

Crown prosecutor in the case, Daniel Becker, referred the matter to police for investigation.

Judge Sharp acknowledged McCarthy’s sentence would have a starting point of 12 months imprisonment.

“The offending was sexually motivated, gratuitous, has had a significant impact on the victims. The offending has had skin on skin contact,” he said.

Sharp said McCarthy was entitled to a reduction due to his lack of convictions, and guilty plea on one of the charges. These reductions took into account the “impact of the need for you to be in New Zealand” which jail or home detention would inflict.

While disheartened by the level of McCarthy’s sentence, his victim expressed relief after many years of struggle.

“I’m one to count my blessings and be grateful for what is out of my control,” she said.

“I would’ve hoped for at least home detention, but the fact that he quite possibly could return to Melbourne to work in the industry that he does, with vulnerable women and youth, is incredibly disappointing.

But she said the sentence “as small and lacklustre as it was, was still a win in my eyes” due to the accompanying criminal conviction.

Tom Dillane is an Auckland-based journalist covering local government and crime as well as sports investigations. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is deputy head of news.

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