Amon was charged with five counts of having sexual intercourse with a child between the ages of 10 and 14 after he was arrested at Manly police station at 6am on Friday.
Rory Amon at Palm Beach in January.James Brickwood
The 35-year-old was also charged with two counts of indecent assault of a person under 16,two counts of attempted sexual intercourse with a child between the ages of 10 and 14,and committing an act of indecency with a person under 16.
The charges relate to the alleged sexual assault of a 13-year-old boy at an address in Mona Vale over a two-month period in 2017.
Amon denies the allegations and said he intends to fight the charges in court.
“The nature of the charges against me are such that I will be unable to continue to fully represent my community in Parliament. As a result,I have tendered my resignation as the Member for Pittwater,effective immediately,” he said.
“The people of Pittwater should have a representative who can dedicate one hundred per cent of their time advocating for this wonderful community. As I defend myself against these charges,I will not be able to devote my full energy to representing them.”
He also thanked his supporters and described his time as member for Pittwater as the honour of his life.
A statement from Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said that,while Amon was “entitled to the presumption of innocence”,the citizens of Pittwater were entitled to have an MP who can “discharge their duties in the community fully”.
“I therefore asked Mr Amon to resign from the NSW Parliament effective immediately. He has tendered his resignation to the Speaker,” Speakman said.
Rory Amon at Narrabeen in 2021. He was a Northern Beaches councillor before entering NSW parliament.Sam Mooy
Amon’s resignation will prompt a third byelection for the Liberals,with Epping and Hornsby going to the polls on October 19 after the resignations of former premier Dominic Perrottet and former treasurer Matt Kean.
Amon’s lawyers signalled an intention to apply for a suppression order at Manly Local Court on Friday,which would have prevented publication of the case.
But,just as the Herald and other media outlets were ready to fight the suppression order in court,Amon’s lawyers withdrew their application.
In a statement,police said detectives attached to Northern Beaches Police Area Command commenced an investigation in June 2022.
“Police were told a teenage boy was allegedly sexually assaulted by a man ... at an address in Mona Vale.
“In March 2023,Strike Force NOORAL was established to investigate the incident.”
Amon was granted strict conditional bail and will face Manly Local Court on October 24.
He replaced former planning minister Rob Stokes as MP for Pittwater at the March 2023 election,but his Liberal Party preselection was highly controversial.
Stokes wanted a woman to replace him in the blue ribbon seat and lobbied members of the party’s state executive to not back Amon.
Staff in then-premier Dominic Perrottet’s office also made calls on behalf of Perrottet amid concerns Amon was not the strongest candidate for a seat they believed was under threat from teal candidate Jacqui Scruby.
At the same time,Liberal-turned-independent Gareth Ward,who was suspended from parliament as he faced sexual and indecent assault charges,to which he has pleaded not guilty,called state executive members in support of Amon.
Rory Amon is a volunteer with the Rural Fire Service (RFS).Facebook
Despite the intervention of Perrottet and Stokes,Amon’s endorsement was passed by one vote and he became the preselected candidate.
He won Pittwater despite a 22 per cent swing against the Liberals and Speakman appointed him assistant shadow minister for infrastructure,transport,roads and youth.
Stokes said:“I had absolutely no knowledge of the allegations regarding the candidate for Pittwater. If I had,I would have contacted the police.”
After Ward was charged with historical sex offences,he was removed from the Liberal party room and sat on the crossbench pending the outcome of his case.
Ward was also suspended from the parliament,which prevented him from attending the parliamentary precinct,although that suspension did not continue after he successfully retained Kiama.
Amon was elected to Northern Beaches Council in 2017. On his Liberal Party website,he lists his chief achievements during his time on council as getting $2.5 million for the Mona Vale Surf Club rebuild,and helping secure $4.6 million to protect Newport littoral rainforest from development.
According to his website,Amon grew up on the northern beaches and,before his career in politics,worked as a family lawyer. He is a volunteer with the Rural Fire Service (RFS) and was president of the Davidson Brigade.
In his inaugural speech last year,Amon spoke about the RFS leaving “an indelible mark upon my commitment to public service”,with the Black Summer bushfires the catalyst for his journey to Macquarie Street.
His brigade was deployed to the NSW South Coast,and he described how his fellow volunteers “barrelled from suburb to suburb throughout the City of Shoalhaven and Eurobodalla for weeks,doing our best to save homes and businesses from ruin”.
“We saved some but lost many more. Every single loss hurt. No number of saves could take away that pain,” he told parliament.
Amon was scheduled to officiate Saturday’s Shute Shield rugby grand final between Eastern Suburbs and Northern Suburbs but has been replaced.
Asked about the charges against Amon during budget estimates on Friday,Police Minister Yasmin Catley said the allegations were “news to me”.
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