'Sex' was cop's motive to access filesBy Andrea Hayward, AAP November 17, 2009, 3:28 pm Send
A former detective was sexually motivated in using the West Australian police computer system to access the details of more than a dozen women, a court has been told.
John Lawrence Curran, 46, pleaded guilty to 16 counts of unlawfully using police computers to access the details of 15 women when he appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Curran also pleaded guilty to two charges of unlawfully playing police video records of interview to a girlfriend, who had badgered him to do so.
Curran accessed the details of women whose motor vehicle registrations he had recorded in his personal diary, along with details about their appearances.
Corruption and Crime Commission lawyer Brett Tooker told the court the diary notations included comments such as "huge bazookas", "blonde, skinny legs" and "hooters plus".
Mr Tooker said Curran had also accessed the details of six women after seeing a newspaper advertisement for sexual services.
"What he did, he did for his own sexual gratification," Mr Tooker said.
He said Curran had approached only two of the women whose details he had accessed and one approach was a serious breach, with the then detective claiming he was investigating a bag-snatching incident.
Curran's lawyer, Mark Andrews, said there was a sexual interest but it was no more than a curiosity.
Mr Andrews said Curran, who had a 27-year career with the WA police, had already paid a heavy price for his indiscretions.
He resigned as detective senior sergeant at the Warwick detectives office in Perth's northern suburbs before details of the allegations were outlined, to save the police force from embarrassment, he said.
Curran was "an emotional and psychological shipwreck" from November 2005 to January 2008, when the offences occurred, Mr Andrews said.
"They (mental health issues) are undoubtedly what caused the offender ... to become so psychologically vulnerable to make the errors of judgment ... that have ultimately landed him in court today," he said.
Curran was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and faced a bleak future, he said.
The father of three had suffered an acrimonious marriage breakdown years before his offending and had been depressed and drinking heavily when he committed the offences, Mr Andrews said.
"It's really quite remarkable he didn't hit a brick wall before this offending," he said.
A jail term would crush Curran and destroy any chance he had to rebuild his life, Mr Andrews said.
Mr Tooker said a term of imprisonment was the only appropriate sentence for what he described as an appalling breach of privacy and gross breaches of trust.
He said a message needed to be sent that this offending could not happen.
"General deterrence must loom large in this case," Mr Tooker said.
"Only an immediate term of imprisonment can be imposed."
Curran faces a maximum penalty of 12 months jail and a $5000 fine for each of the charges of unlawfully accessing the police computer system.
Magistrate Doug Jones has reserved his decision until Wednesday.
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