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Maggie Kirkpatrick, 74, who played prison warden Joan "The
Freak" Ferguson for nearly 400 episodes, was found guilty of two
counts of indecent assault and one count of gross indecency on a
person under 16 by the Melbourne Magistrates Court, the official
said.
Kirkpatrick had fought the charges, but the magistrate said he
believed the victim was a truthful witness after her account of
being molested at the actress' home in 1984. Kirkpatrick met the
teenager through a colleague who was a patient at the same
psychiatric facility as the victim.
The conviction makes Kirkpatrick Australia's third television
star to be found guilty of child molestation in the 1980s.
Last year Robert Hughes, the star of sitcom "Hey Dad!" was
imprisoned for at least six years, after being found guilty of
sexually assaulting minors including on the set of the show.
The same year, Rolf Harris was sentenced to almost six years for
indecent assault of four young girls from 1968 to 1986.
In June, an Australian government inquiry into child abuse said
it was inviting witnesses from the entertainment industry to
testify, widening its scope beyond religious organizations.
Kirkpatrick, who also appeared in 18 episodes of beachside drama
"Home and Away" in separate stints in 1991 and 2004, is unlikely
to face prison because prosecutors agreed she could receive a
non-custodial sentence.
She will be assessed for a community corrections order and
return to court on Friday.
Australian law protects the identity of the victim in sexual
complaint cases.
(Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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