Noosa detectives charged a man with criminal defamation after flyers were allegedly distributed throughout Tewantin falsely claiming the man’s former sporting associate was a paedophile.
The flyers contained the name and address of the 70-year-old victim along with a number of false allegations about his alleged criminal history.
On November 30, 2018 the 69-year-old wife of the victim was handed a copy of the flyer by a member of the club, at which point police were notified.
Ongoing investigations by police and forensic examination of multiple flyers that were seized led to a 67-year-old Tinbeerwah man being charged with criminal defamation last week.
He is due to appear in Noosa Magistrates Court on Tuesday 9 July.
Noosa Police senior sergeant Ben Carroll said the victim and his family were devastated by the allegations shared amongst the tight-knit community.
“This should serve as a warning to others that police take offences like this very seriously and will prosecute over the sharing of defamatory and malicious information,” sen sgt Carroll said.
“The victim and his wife were obviously distressed by these allegations. He now has the opportunity in court to clear his name and restore his reputation.”
