Global manhunt for Australian human rights advocate accused of running a sick child sex ring from his Kings Cross ‘refuge’ centre for homeless boys
- Simon Davies ran Homeless Children’s Association in Darlinghurst from 1981-83
- The 63-year-old allegedly abused dozens of homeless boys over six years
- Police have launched an international manhunt for Davies in 2016
- He is believed to have gone back to the UK in 1993 and has not returned since
A prominent British-born privacy law expert and human rights advocate has been accused of sexually abusing dozens of homeless Australian boys in his care.
Simon Davies, 63, was the CEO of the Homeless Children’s Association in Darlinghurst, in Sydney’s inner east, from 1981 to 1983.
The journalist and author had become a high-profile figure for his humanitarian work as well as his efforts to overturn Australia’s controversial national ID card proposal in the late 1980s.
Police have since launched an international manhunt for Davies after an eight-year investigation found he had allegedly run a sordid sex trafficking ring within the shelter over a six-year period.
Simon Davies, 63, is accused of sexually abusing dozens of homeless children while running the Homeless Children’s Association in Darlinghurst, in Sydney’s inner east, in the 1980s
The probe had been kept under wraps until police applied for an arrest warrant at Parramatta Local Court in 2016, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Davies is wanted for 18 child sex and indecent assault offences that allegedly took place between 1981 and 1987.
The British-born author had become a high-profile figure in the privacy industry as well as his efforts to overturn Australia’s controversial national ID card proposal in the late 1980
It’s alleged many of the assaults occurred at a refuge for troubled boys in Kings Cross.
The homeless centre was generally populated by those commonly known as ‘kids of the Cross’ – teen runaways who were known to get in trouble with the law.
Davies, who was born in Lancashire, UK, arrived in Australia with his family in 1962 when he was six years old and settled in Sydney’s Summer Hill.
He reportedly left for London in December 1993 and has not returned to Australia since.
Australian Federal Police in Canberra and London are now working with Scotland Yard to find the accused paedophile and have him extradited.
Davies’ alleged sex abuse did not come to light until 2010 when a victim went to police with his claims