Former AFL coach Dani Laidley had the chance of revealing her true self to her family and friends stolen when information was allegedly leaked by police.
Prosecutors accused senior Victoria Police detective Murray Gentner of being among the officers responsible for disclosing personal information about Ms Laidley, including her arrest in May 2020.
He’s facing four charges over the disclosure of police information relating to Ms Laidley, including sharing information about her arrest, charges and appearance in a police WhatsApp group called “SD1 Gentlemen’s Club”.
Gentner is also facing a misconduct charge. He is challenging the charges in a contested hearing in Melbourne Magistrates Court.
Prosecutor Neill Hutton on Monday dropped one of the unauthorised disclosure charges, relating to a screenshot of Ms Laidley’s mugshot, after Gentner’s lawyers said there was no evidence to contradict Gentner’s claim he got it off the internet.
Gentner is still facing accusations he accessed a police database on a day off to view details of Ms Laidley’s arrest and shared it with a description of her as a “full blown ice head and tranny”.
Mr Hutton said the commentary was “salacious gossip”.
“What the disclosures did was steal from Ms Laidley the right to choose her own time and place to reveal to her family and friends who she truly was,” Mr Hutton said.
Gentner, in an interview with investigators played in court last week, said he checked the database on his day off because it was his responsibility to keep up with local incidents, describing it as an “obsession”.
But Mr Hutton disputed that too, saying while he checked Ms Laidley’s arrest records he did not look at details about a missing person, multiple robberies, car thefts, an arson offence or criminal damage.
“His reasonable excuse for accessing information, which is ‘I’m a really good cop that keeps abreast of everything in my area’ is belied by the fact he did the opposite,” he said.
Gentner’s barrister Chris Carr SC is arguing there is no case for them to answer because of a technicality.
He said the charges allege Gentner is an “employee of Victoria Police”.
“Police officers are statutory appointees, they are not employed under a contract of service,” he said.
He said it was too late for prosecutors to amend the allegation and argue that Gentner is instead “a policeman” because they have closed their case.
The magistrate is expected to hand down her decision next week.
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