Alleged head of military sex ring 'Knights of the Jedi Council' pleads guilty

The alleged former head of a military sex ring has pleaded guilty to distributing images of a woman who, without her knowledge, was filmed having sex.

20121015000584099611-original.jpg

(File: AAP)

Former army officer Hastings Fredrickson is accused of being the ringleader of the so-called "Knights of the Jedi Council" - a group of officers who exchanged degrading emails involving up to 10 women.

In court on Tuesday, Fredrickson pleaded guilty to three counts of using a carriage service to cause offence.

Three other similar charges were withdrawn by the Commonwealth.

More than 180 people have been forced out of the ADF this year for various offences.

Fredrickson is due to reappear in court on August 22.

More than 180 Australian Defence Force members have been sacked in the last 12 months for misconduct including sexual offences, reported the ABC earlier today.

Two-thirds involved the use of banned substances, according to figures obtained by the public broadcaster.

Among those fired is Hastings Fredrikson, the alleged leader of the so-called “Knights of the Jedi Council”, who faces six charges of using a carriage service to offend after allegedly sharing explicit videos and emails.

138 of those dismissed were from the Australian Army, with 26 from the Navy and 18 from the Air Force.


Share

1 min read

Published

Updated

Source: World News Australia


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world