Convicted pony club pedophile Neil Duncan released on bail

A convicted pedophile will remain free in the community after he was again granted bail to undergo cancer screening.

Neil Duncan, 67, was found guilty in June of eight counts of sexually touching girls aged between 10 and 16 between 2018 to 2020 when he was president of the Cobargo Pony Club on the NSW south coast.

Furious parents, police and prosecutors demanded he be sent to prison for his sickening acts.

However, the NSW Supreme Court was on Monday told the 67-year-old has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and is undergoing further testing to see if he also has bowel cancer.

Duncan faced the Supreme Court on Monday where Crown prosecutors applied for him to be taken into detention ahead of his sentence on August 5.

Crown prosecutor David Morters SC told the court Duncan’s medical conditions accounted for “special and exceptional” circumstances to remain on bail, given he is on strict bail conditions.

“The Crown would have to accept that we would come to the conclusion that the balance is in his favour,” Mr Morters told the court.

Defence barrister Richard Pontello SC revealed to the court Duncan was due to undergo surgery on September 20 to have his prostate gland removed and was looking to push back his sentence.

The 67-year-old was granted bail in the District Court at Queanbeyan by Judge Robyn Tupman on June 2 despite the guilty conviction.

As part of his bail conditions, Duncan is not allowed to attend pony club events across two regions in NSW.

He has also been banned from leaving his family’s stud farm in Timbumburi on the outskirts of Tamworth unless in the company of a family member.

The maximum jail time for each of the eight charges carry 10 years in prison.

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