Meryl Sexton is a judge of the County Court in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, Australia, appointed in August 2001.

Early life and education

Meryl Sexton attended

Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne (PLC), is an independent, private, Presbyterian, day and boarding school for girls, located in Burwood, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1875 at East Melbourne, PLC was on ...

. She graduated from

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

with a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Economics.. She completed her articles at law firm Cody Dwyer & Associates and was admitted to practice law in 1984. Upon going to the Bar, her master was future County Court Judge Fred Davey.

Career

Sexton specialised in criminal matters from 1985.Profile
justice.vic.gov.au; accessed 18 June 2015. She appeared for both prosecution and defence before being appointed Crown Prosecutor in 1995, and prosecuted several high-profile and complex cases, including notorious paedophile Michael Glennon. She was appointed as a Judge of the County Court in 2001, and in October 2005 was appointed Judge in Charge of the Sex Offences List, a position she still holds. Among her most noted cases are those of a priest who sexually assaulted children, an attack on West Indian cricketer

Marlon Black Marlon Ian Black (born 7 June 1975, Trinidad and Tobago) is a former West Indian cricketer who played in six Tests and five ODIs, debuting in 2000. He played his last international in 2002 due largely to an incident where he was attacked and b ...

, a trial following the largest ever hashish seizure in Victoria, the former manager of rock band

Mi-Sex Mi-Sex (also styled as MiSex) is a New Zealand new wave band originally active from 1978 to 1986, and led for much of its existence by Steve Gilpin as vocalist, Kevin Stanton as guitarist and songwriter, Murray Burns as keyboardist and songw ...

who had sex with an underage girl and a man who committed a rape on his buck's night. Her highest-profile case has been the rape trial of

Australian rules footballer Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

Andrew Lovett, which began on 11 July 2011. Sexton is heavily involved in legislative reform, particularly relating to sexual offences. She is a member of the Victorian Government's Sexual Assault Advisory Committee and was a member of the Victorian Law Reform Commission's Sexual Offences Reference Advisory committee. She is on the Council of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and part of the Advisory Committee for the Child Witness Service. Sexton is also involved in legal education and has produced many articles and papers relating to sexual offences, particularly on those relating to changes to relevant legislation. In particular, "Changes to the Mental Element of Rape Twilight", "Propensity in Sexual Assault Cases" and an overview of ''The Crimes (Sexual Offences) Act 2006''''The Crimes (Sexual Offences) Act 2006''
justice.vic.gov.au; accessed 18 June 2015. are essential reading for practitioners.

Other activities

Sexton was the first female to be made a life member of the Monash University hockey club. She is also involved in women's issues, as a member of the Equality Before the Law Committee and the Women Barristers Association, trustee of the Queen Victoria Women's Centre Trust, and President of the Victorian Division of the Australian Federation of Business and Professional Women.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sexton, Meryl 21st-century Australian judges Australian women judges Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Victoria (state) Place of birth missing (living people) Judges of the County Court of Victoria 21st-century Australian women judges