Paedophile paramedic, 63, who was named ‘citizen of the year’ is jailed for sexually assaulting a young boy he met at a swimming pool – before taking him in as his foster child
- Paramedic Ronald Francis Willoughby jailed over sexual assault of a teenager
- Willoughby met Shane Rose, 20, as teenager at Bourke Swimming Pool in 2009
- He gave him a job at supermarket and invited him to his place on lunch break
- On the loungeroom floor at his family home he sexually assaulted Mr Rose
A paramedic who was once named ‘citizen of the year’ has been jailed after sexually abusing his foster child.
Ronald Francis Willoughby, 63, was a stalwart in the Bourke community in remote western New South Wales.
He had been named Rotary Citizen of the Year in 2014 and was a veteran in the Ambulance Service, The Daily Telegraph reported.
His altruism was well known around the community so nobody thought twice when the husband and father-of-two became a foster parent to Shane Rose in 2013.
But Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court this week heard that before taking Rose under his wing, Willoughby had sexually assaulted him in motel rooms as a boy.
Ronald Francis Willoughby, 63, was a stalwart in the Bourke community in remote western New South Wales
His altruism was well known around the community so nobody thought twice when the husband and father-of-two became a foster parent to Shane Rose in 2013
Willoughby first met Mr Rose at the local swimming pool six years years before he became his foster son.
Mr Rose had lost his mother in an accident at the age of 12 and did not know his fatherand as a result was placed into the care of the state.
Willoughby told a psychologist he recognised Mr Rose as he asked for leftovers outside of the local supermarket.
He set up the young boy with a job at the supermarket and invited him back to his house one shift, under the pretense he would make him a sandwich for lunch.
On the loungeroom floor of his family home, Willoughby sexually assaulted the unsuspecting boy.
Mr Rose was once again victimised in a motel room in 2013 – the same year Willoughby became a foster carer.
Willoughby pampered his victim in gifts including a mobile phone and enrollment at a private school in Campbelltown, in western Sydney.
Only in 2017 did he come forward and inform Child Abuse Squad detectives and later wore a hidden recording device to catch Willoughby.
In a victim impact statement, Mr Rose said he spiralled into a world of anxiety and drug and alcohol abuse and even attempted suicide.
Willoughby pampered his victim in gifts including a mobile phone and enrollment at a private school in Campbelltown, in western Sydney
He told the Downing Centre District Court in a statement that he felt Willoughby had tried to isolate him from the community.
‘When my family first found out I was going to be living with a white man and not family who were of Aboriginal descent, it started an eruption of arguments and fallouts towards me.
‘I felt very disconnected from my people and the indigenous community.’
Willoughby admitted to the abuse and pleaded guilty to indecent assault and aggravated sexual intercourse with a person under 16.
He admitted to the psychologist of his actions and said he felt ‘so bad for Shane’.
Willoughby was handed a maximum six years in jail and will be eligible for parole in July 2020, as he has already served time in remand.