A former Channel Nine reporter says she was shocked by how ‘open and brazen’ Ben McCormack was about his sexual attraction to young boys in front of other company employees.
Journalist Caroline Marcus appeared on Peta Credlin’s Sky News program on Thursday night to discuss the disgraced A Current Affair presenter, who pleaded guilty to two counts of using a carriage service to transmit, publish or promote child pornography last week.
Ms Marcus told Tony Abbott’s former chief of staff she was ‘not surprised at all’ when news broke of McCormack’s arrest.
‘I was quite troubled when I worked there by how open and brazen he was in talking about his attraction to young boys,’ Ms Marcus said.
‘There were clearly underage boys who would come on the television screens in the (station) and he would make comments indicating his sexual attraction to them.’
A former Channel Nine reporter says she was shocked by how ‘open and brazen’ Ben McCormack was about his sexual attraction to young boys in front of Nine employees
Journalist Caroline Marcus appeared on Peta Credlin’s Sky News program on Thursday night to discuss the disgraced A Current Affair presenter
Ben McCormack pleaded guilty to two counts of using a carriage service to transmit, publish or promote child pornography.
McCormack, 43, was suspended from his role as a journalist on A Current Affair after his arrest in April. He pleaded guilty to the charges in September – the first offence relating to 20 months worth of text messages he sent to a West Australian primary school teacher fantasising about sex with children.
Ms Marcus said there were ‘plenty’ of people within Channel Nine who were aware of his attraction to young boys and even relatives of co-workers.
‘He would make comments to (another Nine employee) about their 14-year-old male relative saying ‘he’s hot’,’ Ms Marcus said.
A Current Affair host Tracy Grimshaw began the program following McCormack’s sentencing to a three-year good behaviour bond saying staff reaction ranged from ‘utter disbelief… to a mixture of sadness, shock and revulsion’.
Ms Marcus said Grimshaw worked from her own office away from others and likely wouldn’t have been exposed to his comments the same way others had.
‘She may not have known but certainly other people knew, it was well known,’ Ms Marcus said.
The journalist said both herself and staff were unaware of the extent in which he had taken his sexual attraction, but is concerned how McCormack has been able to act in the office, including making anti-semitic remarks to Ms Marcus which she formally complained about.
‘I don’t know how someone like Ben McCormack was able to get away with his workplace behaviour as long as he did.’
Ms Marcus said there were ‘plenty’ of people within Channel Nine who were aware of his attraction to young boys and even young relatives of co-workers
‘He would make comments to (a Nine employee) about their 14-year-old male relative saying ‘he’s hot’,’ Ms Marcus said
Executive Producer Grant Williams was stood down from his role as deputy director of news and current affairs in October after staff reportedly accused him of verbal abuse and mistreatment after he introduced rules to stop them from discussing and supporting McCormack.
The executive producer particularly ‘p***ed off’ the women in the office, according to the Daily Telegraph, and was forced to take leave after a string of grievances were filed against him.
Ms Marcus, however, said Williams was just trying to ‘pull them into line’ for their overt public support of the self-confessed ‘proud Ped’.
‘There are colleagues who would be posting pictures with cupcakes for him for R U OK day,’ she said.
‘I know when Grant Williams tried to pull them into line it caused a lot of problems, and it was because of that he had harassment claims put against him.’
Ms Marcus and Channel Nine refused to comment when approached by Daily Mail Australia.
‘I don’t know how someone like Ben McCormack was able to get away with his workplace behaviour as long as he did’