Former NRL star Brett Finch has pleaded guilty to using a sex hotline to share child abuse material. Here’s the full news of Brett Finch.
Brett Finch : News | Child Abuse | Charges| is married
Brett John Finch is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s.
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Personal information
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| Full name | Brett John Finch |
| Born | 20 August 1981 Maitland, New South Wales, Australia |
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Playing information
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| Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) |
| Weight | 89 kg (14 st 0 lb) |
| Position | Five-eighth, Halfback |
A New South Wales State of Origin representative half back, he played in the National Rugby League for Australian clubs the Canberra Raiders, Sydney Roosters, Parramatta Eels and Melbourne Storm. Finch also played in the Super League for English club the Wigan Warriors.
Born in Maitland, New South Wales, Australia, the son of former player Robert Finch.
| Club | ||||||
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| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 1999–02 | Canberra Raiders | 70 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 90 |
| 2003–06 | Sydney Roosters | 95 | 31 | 0 | 6 | 130 |
| 2007–09 | Parramatta Eels | 51 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 30 |
| 2009–10 | Melbourne Storm | 41 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 28 |
| 2011–12 | Wigan Warriors | 60 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 72 |
| 2013 | Melbourne Storm | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 330 | 84 | 1 | 12 | 350 | |
Finch was educated at Erindale College, where he represented 1998 Australian Schoolboys.
He was a Hunter Mariners junior, playing for Valentine Devils.
Brett Finch news
Former footy star Brett Finch has pleaded guilty to calling a sex hotline to share child abuse material.
The 40-year-old ex-NRL player admitted via his lawyer Paul McGirr on Tuesday to a single charge of using a carriage service to share child abuse material.
Finch had faced seven charges in total but had six withdrawn at Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court today and will face sentencing at the District Court in September.
Outside court Mr McGirr said: ‘There’ll be subjective material obtained in relation to my client’s mental health and possible substance abuse problems.’
Child Abuse
Finch was one of eight men arrested in late 2021 as part of investigations into an alleged child abuse material ring.
The former State of Origin halfback pleaded guilty to one count of using a carriage service to transmit or publish child abuse material, while a further six charges were withdrawn by prosecutors.
Finch sat emotionless as he fronted Sydney’s Downing Centre Local court on Tuesday morning.
His lawyer, Paul McGirr, told reporters outside court his client was seeking treatment for mental health issues.
“We just ask that everyone remember that there [are] mental health issues in play and we have to respect that at this stage,” he said.
Finch retired from the NRL at the end of the 2013 season after 330 games for the Raiders, Roosters, Storm and Wigan Warriors, after making his debut in 1999.
Charges
Disgraced former NRL star Brett Finch used an online sex chat service to send sick messages about fantasies of having sex with a 12-year-old boy, court documents have revealed.
The former NSW State of Origin hero has endured a stunning fall from grace and on Tuesday he stood in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court, where he pleaded guilty to one child abuse material charge.
Looking gaunt and wearing a grey suit, he stood in the back of courtroom 5.5, where his lawyer Paul McGirr entered a guilty plea on his behalf.
According to a statement of agreed facts signed by Finch, between November 2020 and January 2021, he used the “FastMeet” chat service to talk to other users about wanting to have sex with pubescent and teenage boys.
Many of the shocking messages are too graphic to print.
His dramatic downfall was put in motion when Victorian Police arrested Robert Bray, a convicted child sex offender, and began investigating his use of “FastMeet” to exchange child abuse material with other users.
Is married
In 2018 he married his partner of 5 years Elli Johnston and in 2019 they welcomed a baby girl, Mackenzie Grace.
On 24 October 2019, it was revealed by the Sydney Morning Herald that Finch checked himself into a mental health facility after an incident on an interstate flight.
The wife of NRL star Brett Finch has been spotted just hours after her embattled husband reported for bail on child abuse material charges – as his lawyer lashes out at police.
The retired 40-year-old’s defence lawyer, Paul McGirr, slammed the NSW Police Force for what he described as their ‘underhanded’ and ‘quite unfair’ treatment of the former footy player.