A Warrnambool Peek Whurrong Koori court elder and former football umpire has been charged with historical child sex offences.
Warrnambool Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Unit officer Andrew Kirkpatrick said 69-year-old Robert Eccles, also known as "Locky", was arrested and charged with 13 offences last week.
They relate to police allegations he engaged with indecent acts with a teenager under his supervision or authority in the mid-2000s.
Police allege that the offending took place between 2006 and 2008 during Mr Eccles' time as a football umpire with the Warrnambool and District Football Umpires Association.
The Peek Whurrong elder was named one of the most outstanding senior citizens in the state when he won a Victorian Senior of the Year 2021 volunteer award for his intergenerational leadership and role in local sport.
He also sat on Warrnambool's Koori court division for more than six years and conducted Indigenous language programs in kindergartens and schools.
Detective Senior Constable Kirkpatrick said the Warrnambool man was charged with six counts each of committing an indecent act with a child aged 16 years under care supervision/authority and committing an indecent act with a child aged 16 or 17 years under care supervision/authority.
He has also been charged with one count of indecent assault.
He is on bail and is expected to appear at Warrnambool Magistrates Court on January 16, 2023.
