Bombshell legal development after Collingwood superfan ‘Joffa’ Corfe escaped jail sentence for sexually abusing a child – as crucial information in case is called into question and his victim slams ‘miscarriage of justice’
- Questions raised about ‘Joffa’ Corte’s character references
- Former charity boss angry an old reference was presented
- Collingwood tragic Corte avoided jail after abusing a minor
A man sexually abused by Collingwood superfan Jeffrey ‘Joffa’ Corfe has called out a shocking ‘miscarriage of justice’ after it emerged an old reference from a charity boss was presented to a court without permission, hailing the ‘character’ of the convicted paedophile.
Corfe, 62, avoided a jail sentence over the 2005 assault on Alex Case – who was 14 at the time of the offence.
In 2022, Corfe admitted sexually abusing Case at an address in Melbourne’s north.
He pleaded guilty to a charge of sexually penetrating a child under the age of 16.
On February 27, County Court Judge Gerard Mullaly handed Corfe a suspended 12-month sentence, noting his ‘good character’.
A man sexually abused by Collingwood superfan Jeffrey ‘Joffa’ Corfe (pictured) has called out a shocking ‘miscarriage of justice’
Last month Corfe avoided a jail sentence after admitting to the 2005 assault on Alex Case – who was 14 at the time
In a bombshell development, it has since emerged Jeremy Maxwell, a former fundraising general manager for the Epilepsy Foundation, didn’t agree that his character reference could be used.
Maxwell is ‘appalled’ his words supported a convicted sex offender in Corfe.
‘It feels like I’ve been used. He [Corfe] is not the person I thought he was,’ he said.
‘It makes me question everything I know about him. If I’d have known, I’d never have let it [reference] be used.’
According to the Herald Sun, the historical character reference from Maxwell was passed onto Corfe’s legal representatives by a family member.
Louis Dean, Corfe’s solicitor from Slades & Parsons Criminal Lawyers, then issued it to Christopher Terry, the barrister who appeared for Corfe in the County Court of Victoria.
Dean said he attempted to contact Maxwell but did not get a response.
Terry was ‘alarmed’ after he was informed Maxwell didn’t give his permission for the character reference to be presented to the magistrate.
Questions have seen been raised about two of Corfe’s character references presented to the court
Additionally, a second reference from Father Bob Maguire, a revered priest and community worker, allegedly came from the Father Bob Maguire Foundation, rather than Maguire himself.
Following the development in Corfe’s criminal matter, accredited criminal law specialist Melinda Walker told 3AW radio, ‘Ordinarily character references would be given at the point of sentence and also they refer to the reasons as to why they are writing the reference….notwithstanding what they know about the person now, that they still hold them in high esteem.’
There is no suggestion that any of Corfe’s legal representatives acted improperly in using the references.
In his victim impact statement, Case, 32, said Corfe’s attack after the pair met online ‘planted something so toxic in my mind that for 15 years I was convinced that I was a bad person and that I deserved nothing good.’
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