William John Randall

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

The respondent, admitted as a solicitor in 1981 but never in practice, was a sitting magistrate convicted in November 2017 of 18 child sex offences committed over 12 years, and sentenced to 11 years' imprisonment. QCAT found the conduct, though not connected to legal practice, amounted to professional misconduct under s 419 of the Legal Profession Act 2007, rendering him not a fit and proper person to practise. The Tribunal recommended removal from the roll and ordered him to pay the applicant's costs.

Duties found breached:

• Personal probity and fitness to practise

Aggravating factors:

• 18 child sex offences committed over a 12-year period
• One offence involved maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship with a child for 12 years
• Committed while a sitting magistrate
• Serving 11 years' imprisonment with a serious violent offence declaration
• Conduct heinous and incompatible with the personal qualities essential for legal practice

Mitigating factors:

• Respondent consented to the orders sought