Man arrested over alleged indecent assault of triple j presenter Gen Fricker

Former Assistant Editor

A man has been arrested after unlawfully gaining entry into the ABC’s Ultimo offices and indecently assaulting triple j presenter Gen Fricker.

31-year-old Kieren Gallagher, hailing from Wollongong, reportedly entered the triple j studios on Wednesday September 5, grabbing and kissing Lunch host Fricker while she was on air.

The ABC reports that Gallagher, now in custody, was arrested by police early Monday morning after CCTV footage showed him walking down a corridor within the ABC premises.

Gallagher has no fixed address, and was arrested at Central station after police released an image of him to the public.

Court documents obtained by Fairfax Media reveal that Gallagher had been stalking Fricker for several months, “with the intention of causing her physical or mental harm”.

In court on Monday afternoon, Gallagher was said to be “aggressive, highly agitated and abusive” according to court documents, and “unable to indicate to the court what he wants”.

He is currently being assessed under the Mental Health Act, and will return to court at a later date.

The ABC is now looking to bolster security at the Ultimo site.

Director of news Gaven Morris revealed in an email to staff that more security guards had been placed on site since the incident.

“There may be increased checks on IDs, security attention at all building entry points and escalated physical security improvement works,” said Morris.

“We are supporting our colleagues directly affected by this incident.”

He also suggested that the ABC had recently invested in a heavier security presence, but that “the success of new systems and infrastructure is always dependent on our behaviour”.

One staff member, who wished to remain anonymous, told Fairfax that staff have previously expressed several concerns over ABC security.

They said they always have their phone out when walking into work, especially with recent debate over alleged bias at the company making headlines.

Comment Form

Your email address will not be published.

Recent comments (0)
Post new comment

Jobs

See all