Carlito Jose Desacola

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

The respondent, a Queensland legal practitioner, was convicted in the District Court of indecent treatment of an 11-year-old child (12 months imprisonment suspended after six months). He also failed on four occasions to notify the Queensland Law Society of the charges, conviction, and show cause event. The Tribunal found Charge 1 constituted professional misconduct (concluding he was not a fit and proper person, largely due to the impact on the profession's reputation) and Charges 2-5 constituted unsatisfactory professional conduct. No express finding of dishonesty was made. The Tribunal recommended removal of his name from the roll and ordered him to pay the applicant's costs on the standard basis.

Duties found breached:

• No baseless or threatened misconduct report

Aggravating factors:

• Conviction for a serious offence involving sexual assault of an 11-year-old child, described as brazen and opportunistic
• Conduct likely to have adverse impact on the reputation and standing of the legal profession
• Ongoing failure to report over a substantial period (Charge 2)
• Failure to understand reporting obligations

Mitigating factors:

• Admitted all five charges at an early stage
• Co-operated in the proceedings and appeared in person
• Accepted responsibility for his conduct
• No suggestion of similar offences before or after
• Significant adverse effect on his life including loss of practising certificate and adverse publicity
• Diagnosed with atypical mood disorder and generalised anxiety disorder
• Charges 3-5 occurred in the shadow of his trial and imprisonment (sentenced and taken into custody immediately)