In Brief

In Brief

ROBERTS CLEARED OF ASSAULTING EX

Former Manly player Ian Roberts has been cleared of assaulting his ex-lover Ben Prideaux. Downing Centre Local Court magistrate John McIntosh said it could not be proved Prideaux’s injuries were caused by Roberts assaulting him and that they may have occurred when the ex-rugby league star tried to calm Prideaux by holding his arms. Roberts has consented not to contact Prideaux for six months.

WA PEDOPHILES PROSECUTED

Two gay pedophiles who kidnapped, sexually abused and plotted to murder a teenage boy have been sentenced to a total of 44 years in gaol at the Western Australia District Court. Judge Michael Bowden said Robbie Wheeler and his boyfriend Victor Leslie Urquhart displayed staggering depravity. The victim suffers from eating and sleeping disorders and has tried to commit suicide.

TOP PRIZE FOR GAY FILMMAKER

Gay filmmaker Tony Ayres has been awarded the $15,000 Screenplay Prize at the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. The accolade is for his feature film script, The Home Song Stories, that tells the true story of a glamorous Shanghai nightclub singer who struggles to survive in 70s Australia. Ayres said, It was thrilling for me to have my script recognised as a piece of writing. The Home Song Stories will screen at the Sydney Film Festival on 9 and 13 June and will be released nationally in August.

NOT PICTURED, MOTHER AND MOTHER

Proud grandparents Dick and Lynne Cheney pipped their own daughter and daughter-in-law for the official portrait of the sixth vice-presidential grandchild, Samuel David, born on 23 May. No explanation was given for why Samuel was not photographed with his mothers, Mary Cheney and her partner of 15 years Heather Poe. When asked by American ABC News whether the US government would increase rights for same-sex parents in light of the Cheney child, President Bush declared his support for laws to make sure people are treated fairly.

PAKISTAN JAILS SAME-SEX COUPLE

A Pakistani married couple have appealed to President Pervez Musharraf for leniency after being jailed for three years and fined $200 after a judge ruled the husband was, in fact, a woman. Shumail Raj has had several sex change operations. However, the judge ruled he was not legally male and the couple had lied about their sexual status when they married, making the relationship un-Islamic. The couple -“ who say they are not gay -“ claim they married to avoid the wife being forced into an arranged marriage.

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