A psychologist has been disqualified from the profession after downplaying and excusing a patient for sexually touching her cat.
Marged Goode, 77, was banned in March following a Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal into how she treated the man, a convicted paedophile.
The treatment was intended to cure the man's "sexual attraction to cats" and began in 2010, continuing on and off until 2021.
He was jailed for five years in 2014 for sexually abusing a child under 16, along with producing and possessing child pornography in 2012 and 2013.
In an early session, the man sexually touched Dr Goode's cat, something she branded as "distasteful" but not "illegal or warranting restriction".
However, bestiality, which refers to sexual contact between a human and an animal, is illegal in Australia.
The man also had a history of engaging in sexual activity with cats and being aroused by bestiality, which was noted when he was diagnosed with autism in 2010.
Dr Goode told another psychologist it would be "unnecessary and extremely harsh" to stop the man from having contact with animals.
This was due to the man being "unlikely to have any long-term adult sexual relationships".
In the same conversation Dr Goode said she did not "get the impression that [the man] made [the child victim] worse" by his offending and "cats might be a better alternative".
Dr Goode later said the man's "attraction to cats was the same as adults being attracted to adults, and that he was not attracted to all cats".
A case conference about the man's care in May 2019 heard that Dr Goode pointed out "there was no victim" in the act as the cat later returned to him.
That same month the man expressed interest to work in animal care during a session that took place while he was on day release.
Dr Goode said she did not believe that was a "realistic pursuit" and instead gave him books "relating to animal behaviour".
However, the conference noted the books contained pictures of animals "displaying their anal region and ready for sexual activity".
There was also a large amount of detailed descriptions of courtship rituals for animals engaged in sexual activity.
Christopher Lennings, a clinical psychologist who provided an expert report for the tribunal hearing said Dr Goode's practice was "well below professional standards".
"The naivety and lack of objectivity demonstrated by a person as allegedly [eminent] in her field as I am told is, is a matter of such concern that it raises questions about her professional judgment," Dr Lennings said.
The Psychology Board of Australia cancelled Dr Goode's registration and disqualified her from applying to be re-registered for four-and-a-half years.
She was previously known for having significant expertise in treating autism over more than a 40-year career and the board acknowledged was unlikely to practice again.
