2 months ago
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A former TV host accused of sexually touching a 16-year-old boy has been allowed to go within dozens of metres of the teenager’s home, while his passport will be returned so he can travel to Bali for dental treatment.
Peter Everett, one-time host of Network Ten cooking show Ready Steady Cook, has been charged with sexually touching the boy without consent on the NSW Central Coast on July 25.
Peter Everett was a host on Ready Steady Cook.Credit: Network Ten
The 67-year-old, who denies the accusation, was arrested the next day and spent one night in custody before being granted bail.
Under his bail conditions, he was required not to go within 800 metres of the complainant’s home, report to police twice a week and surrender his passport to prevent any flight risk.
However, he successfully varied those conditions in the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday so he could “do some work” at a property located on the same street as the teenager’s home, and is now allowed to travel as close as 10 metres to it.
Justice Desmond Fagan said he appreciated “the understandable desire of the Crown and law enforcement to avoid contact between the accused and the complainant”, but said he “did not see how there would be risks of encountering the complainant” with specific conditions attached.
Accepting the defence’s proposal, Fagan said Everett could drive to the property, park there, remain there or within the adjacent 20 metres to “do what he has to do” and drive away.
“He would not have to linger,” he said.
Fagan also agreed to delete the condition of reporting to police so that Everett could return to Denpasar in Bali in February and complete dental treatment started in November last year.
He must provide his itinerary to police and surrender his passport upon return.
His lawyer argued that documents showed the treatment must be finished within six months.
The judge noted it was “unusual” and “exceptional” to grant travel in such circumstances, but said Everett had described a “pressing need” to get the treatment, the Crown had not questioned the authenticity of the medical documents, and it seemed unlikely the trip would “culminate in a serious risk of flight” or not turning up to court.
The alleged offence did not involve “any violence, or significant persistence or ongoing pursuit of the young man”, Fagan said.
“The particular incident itself, while criminal, if proved, is not the most serious offence of its type,” he said.
The court heard police had opposed the deleting of the passport condition unless Everett was still required to report to them.
Everett became a TV personality in 1998 as an interior designer on Changing Rooms and Renovation Rescue, hitting his career peak while hosting Network Ten show Ready Steady Cook from 2006 until 2011, when he was replaced by comedian and actor Colin Lane.
His last TV appearance was in the 2013 season of The Celebrity Apprentice Australia.
Everett will face a local court hearing in June next year.
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