Clarence Howard-Osborne (died 1979) was an Australian court reporter who is estimated to have interacted sexually with about 2,500 male adolescents.[1][2][3][4] Osborne was reported by multiple investigations to have related sexually with an estimated number of 2,500 male teenagers over a period of about 20 years, including with some youths belonging to prestigious families from Brisbane, Queensland. Some of the boys he allegedly interacted with continued to engage sexually with him during their adulthood. He died by suicide on September 12, 1979, one day after he was questioned by police for allegedly taking photographs of a nude boy. Osborne was never convicted of any sexual crime during his lifetime.[3][1][5][6]
Clarence Osborne scandal | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1917 or 1918 |
| Died | 1979 |
| Cause of death | Suicide |
| Citizenship | Australia |
| Occupation | Court reporter |
| Years active | 1950s-79 |
| Known for | Allegedly having sexual interactions with 2,500 male adolescents |
The affair was covered by news outlets including Truth, the Sunday Mail and ABC's Four Corners.[1] It also inspired a 1987 play by Australian playwright Kevin Nemeth, in which fictional character Graham Hamlyn plays a role similar to Osborne's real life deeds.[7] Osborne was also the main subject of 1981 criminology book The Man They Called a Monster, published by Cassell Australia.[8][5] According to Gary Dowsett, Osborne's scandal was an early catalyst of the debate regarding sexual attraction to minors among the Australian media.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c Wilson, Paul (1981). "Dangerousness, Paedophilia and the Case of Clarence Osborne". Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology. 14 (3): 131–137. doi:10.1177/000486588101400302. ISSN 0004-8658.
- ^ "Clarence Osborne". The Age. January 30, 1987. p. 31.
- ^ a b Herlihy, Jo (1993). "Paedophilia, child sexual abuse and practical approaches to prevention". Australian Institute of Criminology.
- ^ Bleakley, Paul (2021-07-19). "A human wrecking ball". Policing Child Sexual Abuse: Failure, Corruption and Reform in Queensland (1 ed.). London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003189589-4. ISBN 978-1-003-18958-9.
- ^ a b Thorneycroft, Ryan (2022). "The Man They Called a Monster: Forty Years On". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 51 (2): 1363–1374. doi:10.1007/s10508-021-02116-3. ISSN 1573-2800. PMID 34779978.
- ^ "Calls for investigation into Old abuse". Nine News. 2016-03-23. Retrieved 2025-01-29.
- ^ "Clarence Osborne". The Age. February 6, 1987. p. 12.
- ^ Biles, David (1982). "Book Review. The Man They Called a Monster". Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology. 15 (2): 128. doi:10.1177/000486588201500208.
- ^ Angelides, Steven (2005). "The emergence of the paedophile in the late twentieth century". Australian Historical Studies. 36 (126): 272–295. doi:10.1080/10314610508682924. ISSN 1031-461X.
