Liam Shane Scott

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

Liam Shane Scott, admitted as a lawyer in 1996 (no practising certificate since 2010), was convicted in May 2022 of 15 serious offences involving making and possessing child exploitation material, using a carriage service to access child pornography/abuse material, and recording others in breach of privacy, using hidden cameras in his home over more than five years. He was sentenced to two years' imprisonment suspended after four months. He admitted the conduct constituted professional misconduct and the parties jointly submitted for removal from the roll. QCAT (President Justice Mellifont) characterised the conduct as professional misconduct and recommended his name be removed from the local roll, finding a suspension inadequate given the serious character defects revealed. No express finding of dishonesty was made. Scott was ordered to pay the Commissioner's costs on the standard basis (amount to be agreed or assessed).

Duties found breached:

• Personal probity and fitness to practise

Aggravating factors:

• Offending spanned more than five years (26 March 2015 to 14 September 2020)
• Degree of sophistication and premeditation - installed hidden spy cameras in home
• Abuse of position of trust, including recording a 13-14 year old relative of his partner in her own home
• 15 recorded convictions attracting actual terms of imprisonment
• Possession of 88 category 2 CEM images and evidence of extensive access to CEM

Mitigating factors:

• Earliest possible acknowledgement of wrongdoing and insight into offending
• Early guilty pleas and cooperation with the disciplinary process, matter dealt with on the papers without contest
• Demonstrated shame, remorse and engaged consistently in psychological treatment/rehabilitation
• Assessed as low to moderate risk of reoffending
• No prior criminal history and otherwise good character with community contribution