Former North Melbourne player and coach Dean Laidley will appear in a Melbourne court this morning charged with stalking.

Laidley was arrested on May 2 and accused of stalking a woman he met on Tinder. The 53-year-old was granted bail on Monday to attend a rehab facility.

Court documents from his bail hearing, obtained by news.com.au, accuse him of repeatedly calling the woman and attending her property, where he allegedly took photographs of her home and of the home’s underground carpark.

He allegedly phoned the woman 43 times on May 2 and loitered outside or near her home before police were called and he was arrested.

Victoria Police has suspended an officer over an “appalling” privacy breach after he allegedly shared unauthorised images of former AFL coach Dean Laidley in custody inside a police station.

Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said it was expected the officer would also be hit with criminal charges over the incident.

The photos were taken of former North Melbourne AFL coach Dean Laidley, who was remanded in custody over the weekend on allegations of stalking as well as other charges.

The 53-year-old from Moonee Ponds was arrested on Saturday night after an incident outside a St Kilda home about 9:00pm.

The 1996 North Melbourne premiership player faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Sunday.

The father of three did not apply for bail and remained in custody on Sunday evening.

Photo allegedly shared in WhatsApp group

Deputy Commissioner Patton said a male senior constable had been suspended with pay for allegedly taking the photos, which could constitute a breach of the Victoria Police Act for the unauthorised disclosure of information.

“It is expected he will be charged in due course,” Deputy Commissioner Patton said.

“He will also be subject to internal disciplinary action.”

Deputy Commissioner Patton said the criminal charge allows for penalties of up to two years in jail or close to $40,000 in fines, while the internal investigation could result in the officer being fined, demoted or sacked.

He said he was “appalled” that a Victoria Police officer had taken the photos.

“It’s not an authorised photograph and should not have been taken,” he said.

“It’s unacceptable conduct.

At a press conference this afternoon, Deputy Commissioner Patton said the senior constable had only recently been interviewed and it was still unclear exactly how many officers were involved.

He said he believed the photograph was shared on WhatsApp but it was unclear how the photos came to be on social media.

“It could be around six [people] that have had the photograph disseminated to them,” he said.

“We’ll continue that investigation. It is early days yet.”

Victoria Police apologises for ‘appalling’ breach of privacy

He said it was not clear whether the people who received the photos on WhatsApp were police members or civilians.

“That’s why we’re interrogating his phones,” he said.

“The investigation will explore who has committed any criminal offence in terms of forwarding or accessing information.

“If other [Victoria Police] members have, if you like, disseminated unauthorised information then they will potentially be facing exactly the same charges as this senior constable is.”

Deputy Commissioner Patton also apologised on behalf of the police force.

“The photograph has been taken inside a custody area, I understand, inside a police station,” he said.

“It’s not an authorised photograph and should not have been taken.

“Clearly we have let down that person who those photos were taken of. We’ve breached their privacy and I do apologise on behalf of Victoria Police.”

He said it was “one of the most appalling breaches” by an officer that he could remember.

“I cannot recall a breach of someone’s privacy like this, an individual when they’re in custody,” he said.

“It’s unlawful and criminal conduct and that’s the way we’re treating it.”

A police spokeswoman earlier said the Professional Standards Command had begun a “thorough investigation” into the photos and would be “looking at all aspects of the matter”.

“This is one of the most significant breaches of a person’s privacy and Victoria Police will not tolerate this sort of behaviour,” the spokeswoman said in a statement.

The matter has also been referred to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC), Deputy Commissioner Patton said.

Lawyer ‘outraged’ over photos of client

Mr Laidley’s lawyer Dee Giannopolous wrote about the images on Sunday night, saying on Twitter she was “outraged” pictures of her client were allegedly “taken by some police officer, on the sly, when in custody in interview”.

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The director of the legal firm, Bill Doogue, described the apparent leak as “disgraceful”.

“Taking photos unlawfully and sharing them. And these were sneaky photos while in [a] police interview in [a] police station by a police officer,” he said.

“Police should investigate and those involved pull [the images] down immediately.”

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Mr Laidley played for the West Coast Eagles from 1987 to 1992 and North Melbourne between 1993 and 1997.

He was the senior coach at North Melbourne from 2003 to 2009 before holding assistant coaching roles at Port Adelaide, St Kilda and Carlton.

He finished his last AFL coaching role at the end of the 2015 season.

He is due to face court again on May 11.

AAP/ABC

Revealed: How a simple mistake with a text upped the ante in Dean Laidley’s alleged stalking campaign against woman he met on Tinder

• Dean Laidley allegedly sent text messages meant for a friend to his ex-girlfriend  
• He was charged with stalking the woman after he was arrested near her home
• Police leaked pictures of Laidley in custody showing him in a wig and dress
• The former AFL player is accused of breaching AVO ‘100 times’ prior to arrest 
• Reportedly angry she broke off relationship after he bought her an apartment

By Brittany Chain and Wayne Flower For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 01:02 EDT, 12 May 2020 | Updated: 01:53 EDT, 12 May 2020

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Dean Laidley lived in an AFL bubble for 30 years, but has confronted longstanding mental health issues since leaving the game.

The 53-year-old former player and coach has been bailed to attend a residential rehabilitation facility, a week after being charged with stalking a woman.

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Teammates, coaches and club doctors lined up to support the ex-West Coast and North Melbourne player as he successfully sought bail on Monday.

Former coaches Mark Williams, Guy McKenna and Denis Pagan wrote references for Laidley, as did his former North Melbourne teammates Brent Harvey and Wayne Schwass and ex-club president James Brayshaw.

However, his barrister Phil Dunn QC doesn’t know whether Laidley registers all that support.

“All he knows is that he’s in a bad place,” he told the bail hearing.

“He’s obviously very sorry that it’s all happened. What he wants to do is get some calm and peaceful time to sort himself out.”

Laidley’s mental health had been low for some time as he struggled with gender dysmorphia, substance abuse and thoughts of self harm, he said.

He said Laidley had lived in a structured football bubble for 30 years and issues has crept to the surface since leaving the AFL.

“This man here now is a very different person to those who knew him and knew him well,” Mr Dunn said.

The lawyer said Laidley was ashamed and wanted to become a better person. He and his family were devastated at the release of photos of him in custody wearing a dress and a blonde wig, he added.

Four officers have been suspended and are expected to be charged over what Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton labelled a serious breach of privacy.

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Details emerges about Dean Laidley’s arrest

Laidley is facing accusations he stalked a woman over a financial dispute.

Mr Dunn told Melbourne Magistrates Court the woman acknowledged late last year Laidley was at “rock bottom”, but within weeks she was living in an apartment he owned.

He said Laidley paid the deposit and mortgage on the apartment, and had sought legal advice over his “onerous” financial position.

It’s alleged he menaced and stalked the woman, calling her 43 times on May 2 before he was arrested.

He also allegedly took photos of her apartment building and contacted her body corporate asking for CCTV footage, which prosecutors argue was to stalk her.

After his arrested, police found 0.43g of crystals in a plastic bag inside an adhesive bra Laidley was wearing, as well as loose crystals believed to be methamphetamine, Senior Constable James Maddock told the hearing.

Laidley is not charged with drug offences.

Mr Dunn said his client was fighting allegations he had been involved in aggressive confrontations with the woman at the apartment complex and suggested CCTV footage could be used as evidence she was not telling the truth about their interactions.

Magistrate Kieran Gilligan agreed Laidley should be released to the 28-day rehabilitation program and a follow-up transitional program.

The AFL Players Association will fund Laidley’s in-house care at the facility, which offers 24-hour supervision, drug testing and treatment.

Readers seeking support for their mental illness can contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.

AFL great Dean Laidley will by most accounts walk free from jail on Monday into an absolute quagmire of public scrutiny. 

To some degree it will be of his own making. 

But his jailers can take most of the blame. 

Ex-AFL footballers like Laidley are no strangers to Victoria’s court system. 

Hardly a month goes by when a familiar name doesn’t pop up on a court list somewhere across Victoria. 

They are not usually past AFL coaches, but some big names have walked the grimy halls of the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court before Laidley. 

Think Mark ‘Bomber’ Thompson, who got embroiled in a drug scandal that involved a bunch of outlaw bikies. 

Laidley faces seven charges, including one each of stalking, committing an indictable offence while on bail and persistent breach of a family violence order and four other intervention order breaches. 

It’s a newsworthy story in footy mad Melbourne any day of the week and one that would have likely shamed and embarrassed Laidley. 

The North Melbourne premiership player was arrested in St Kilda a week ago.

Who he was allegedly stalking and why will likely be revealed when he brings on an application for bail. 

What was not likely to be included in the remand summary was the fact Laidley had been arrested wearing full drag. 

And the consequences for him may turn out harsher than the many who have walked in his troubled footsteps. 

Laidley had been doing well coaching Maribyrnong Park at the Essendon District league and had big plans for his club.

During a podcast in the days before his arrest, he was adament his wild days were well behind him. 

‘I made sure that they (semi-professional players) didn’t have the opinion or view of this psycho who used to coach in the AFL, because I was way past that,’ he said.

‘Out of my 32 years of senior professional football, I reckon last year was probably in the top five or six years that I had … I just enjoyed it so much.

‘It was a great playing group, very coachable, probably too coachable and too nice, so we have a bit of work to do there.’

The fact the football world seemed to know Laidley was a crossdresser for years could indicate he was comfortable in those close to him knowing about it. 

Premiership teammate Corey McKernan said the treatment of Laidley could be considered a test case for the AFL’s support of the LGBTI community. 

One of Australia’s most influential football reporters for more than two decades  revealed this week he knew Laidley had been dressing in women’s clothes for up to 12 years. 

Mike Sheahan rightly said Laidley’s lifestyle choices were not newsworthy. 

Until they became newsworthy, his old mate Sam Newman said.

‘His situation is sad but the issue about whether he was a cross dresser 10 or 12 years ago – he’s not breaking any law. If he’s not breaking any law, why would you write about it? And how is it in the public interest?’ Sheehan said. 

Two senior constables have been suspended over the leaked pictures of the 53-year-old wearing a dress and wig inside a police station interview room.

The photos may have been sent to more than 100 police officers by group chats on social media platforms such as WhatsApp.

The images were splashed across the front pages of the Herald Sun and the West Australian on the same day a Victorian police officer was to be buried. 

It was terrible timing and force command was absolutely livid. 

Deputy Police Commissioner Shane Patton labelled the leak ‘appalling’. 

He could barely contain his anger. 

‘I am appalled an employee of Victoria Police has taken these photographs,’ Mr Patton said.

‘It is unacceptable conduct. It is appalling conduct and there is no place for it in our organisation.

‘This is a breach of privacy, a breach of human rights and we are taking the matter extremely seriously.’

Police Minister Lisa Neville practically said the person who had leaked the photos from inside the police station was an ‘idiot’.

‘It was an idiotic thing to do,’ she told reporters.

The suspended officers were expected to be charged with accessing police information without authorisation.

But Laidley’s very private life as a cross dresser was no-more. 

His lawyer Dee Giannopoulos told a Melbourne court the ex-footy star was suffering from a psychiatric illness.

AFL coaching great Mick Malthouse – who coached Laidley as a player at West Coast after arriving at the club in 1990 – said he knew Laidley was struggling. 

‘He was quite ill there at one stage,’ Malthouse said. 

‘I don’t know exactly what it was but he was in immense pain and I remember him saying that he was on these painkillers and it was quite debilitating.’

Malthouse claimed his former colleague was under pressure at home ‘both physically and mentally’.

‘The pressure he was under at home with one of his children and the fact he was trying to make ends meet and he had this disease, I wouldn’t have thought that would have done the mind any good at all,’ Malthouse said.

‘It grabs hold of you, coaching, it’s more relentless and it’s more demanding.

‘You’ve got to have a really good partner, good family and an understanding family otherwise you’re trying to … please those at home, those at the football club, those in the media.’

The AFL Coaches Association and North Melbourne have said they will try to help Laidley, but Malthouse said there are ‘limited resources’ within the association to support coaches. 

While Laidley was known for his colourful personality off-field, he was also clinging to deep seeded torment dating back to his coaching days. 

In 2006, he had sought counselling after being ‘haunted’ by the image of a fan he clashed with during a game who later took his own life. 

The man, a Kangaroos member in his late 30s, was hit by a train at Seaford on the Frankston line almost 14 years ago to the month. 

Laidley twice had words with the Kangaroos fan as he walked through the crowd to address his players during a clash with St Kilda. 

Daily Mail Australia revealed this week Laidley was attempting to offload his trendy Moonee Ponds apartment mid last month as his life spiralled out of control. 

He had also been actively promoting his Balinese villa, asking friends to share a page dedicated to it in the hope he could rent it out. 

A source told Daily Mail Australia Laidley’s collapse into despair had been on public display about the Moonee Ponds area in recent months before the COVID-19 lockdown. 

A disheveled Laidley – or ‘Tunnel’ as he is well known – had been seen getting about town barefooted and disheveled. 

But if Laidley is in fact hard up for money, he may soon be rolling in cash. 

Robinson Gill lawyer Jeremy King said Victoria Police was at risk of being sued over the incident.

‘There’s certainly an argument for civil litigation against Victoria Police,’ Mr King told The Age on Tuesday.

‘It’s clearly a breach of confidential information and it’s done with reckless indifference and it’s clearly going to cause harm and damage.’

It is illegal for police to use or disclose police information without reasonable excuse and the Laidley case was ‘right up there’ among the worst examples, Mr King said.

‘It’s got to be one of the most shocking breaches of privacy I’ve seen in recent memory,’ he said. 

Victoria Police has faced some significant payouts in recent years over some extremely serious bungles. 

Dale Ewins and Zita Sukys won a multimillion-dollar settlement last year more than two years after officers stormed the Inflation nightclub on King Street and shot them. 

Victoria Police is also facing a massive lawsuit by Melbourne man Faruk Orman, whose murder conviction was overturned.

Orman’s conviction for the murder of Victor Peirce was quashed last year over revelations police informer and gangland lawyer Nicola Gobbo had tainted his case.

He had spent 12 years in jail. 

While Laidley’s fate remains unclear, Sheehan summed it up well in his podcast this week. 

‘It’s sad isn’t it … it’s not about being a cross dresser, he’s facing serious criminal charges,’ he said. 

Victoria Police has suspended two more police officers over the leak of unauthorised photos of former AFL player and coach Dean Laidley in custody inside a police station.

It follows the suspension of two other officers earlier this week over an “appalling” privacy breach after unauthorised images were shared of the former North Melbourne player and coach in custody inside St Kilda police station.

The photos were taken when Laidley was in police custody last weekend on allegations of stalking, as well as other charges.

The 53-year-old from Moonee Ponds was arrested on Saturday night after an incident outside a St Kilda home about 9:00pm.

In a statement, police said Professional Standards Command had “suspended two further Victoria Police employees in relation to photos circulating on social media of a person who was in custody at a police station in Victoria”.

The two male senior constables are from the southern metropolitan region and are expected to be charged with a breach under section 227 of the Victoria Police Act, which is unauthorised disclosure of information.

There have now been four police officers suspended as part of the investigation.

Police said as the investigation was ongoing, there would be no further comment.

Independent oversight of police probe

Meanwhile, Victoria’s corruption watchdog said it would oversee the Victoria Police investigation into the “serious privacy breach”.

Victoria’s independent police oversight agency, IBAC, said the scope of Victoria Police’s investigation would address issues the watchdog considered necessary to restore public confidence and prevent future breaches.

The police investigation will examine the number of officers involved in taking the initial photographs and the conduct of any other officers who were present and aware of the behaviour.

It will also probe how other officers received the photographs and responded to them, including whether they further distributed the images.

IBAC Commissioner Robert Redlich said the community was right to expect that police always conducted themselves in accordance with the law.

“This must include ensuring that people’s privacy is appropriately protected at all times,” Commissioner Redlich said.

“Importantly, Victoria Police has confirmed they are looking at any underlying cultural issues, and how they can build on their work with the LGBTIQ community and ensure their officers have proper regard to human rights.

“Addressing any such cultural issues and improving police training will be fundamental to ensuring this type of behaviour is simply not tolerated and doesn’t happen again.”

Top cop’s ‘sense of shame’

Earlier on Friday, Victoria’s Chief Police Commissioner, Graham Ashton, said he felt ashamed of the force when he learnt the photo of Mr Laidley had been leaked in an act of “immaturity and gross stupidity”.

“I was firstly very angry when I first heard about it, because [it was] on a day when we should have been paying our respects to a fallen police hero, Josh Prestney,” the Chief Commissioner said referring to the funeral of one of four police officers killed in a truck crash on Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway last month.

Mr Ashton said while Constable Prestney’s parents did not raise the incident with him at the funeral on Monday, “there was a sense of shame that I felt that someone in the force had done that on a day that we should have been honouring a police hero”.

He said it was clear “a lot of people” in the force had received the messages, and detectives were in the process of determining how widely it was shared.

There are new reports the leaked photos of Dean Laidley could have been sent to over 100 police officers as an investigation into the scandal is widened.

Two senior Victorian constables have been suspended so far over the leaked pictures of the former AFL player and coach inside a Melbourne police station.

‘DISTURBED’: Dean Laidley arrest continues ‘alarming trend’

‘QUITE ILL’: Malthouse lifts the lid on Laidley’s ‘immense pain’

A second officer was suspended on Tuesday and is likely to be charged with accessing police information without authorisation, which carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison or $40,000 in fines.

The first Victorian police officer accused of sharing the photos was suspended with pay on Monday and is expected to face the same charge.

Deputy Police Commissioner Shane Patton said on Monday that six police officers were sent the photos via WhatsApp and they could face charges if it’s found they disseminated them further.

However new reports claim the number of officers sent the photos is much higher.

“The sheer number of officers who were sent the images is a headache for force command as they try to work out how many should be reprimanded,” the Herald Sun is reporting.

“The Herald Sun understands more than one hundred officers were sent the photos.”

The Herald says officers were sent the photos in large WhatsApp groups and online footy forums.

Victoria Police have reportedly told anyone who was sent the the photos to delete them and explain how they saw them.

According to The Age, around 50 officers have already come forward to say they were sent the photos.

“Many of those 50 have come forward to assist the investigation and tick themselves off as part of the process, and were not sent the photos directly from the original source,” The Age reports.

Police chief slams officers’ ‘appalling’ act

Mr Patton said the dissemination of the pictures of Laidley in the station’s interview room was an ‘appalling” act.

The 53-year-old was photographed wearing a long blonde wig and a dress after his arrest outside a home in St Kilda on Saturday night.

Laidley is facing stalking and other charges, and remains in custody until May 11 after not applying for bail.

Australian Lawyers for Human Rights said the behaviour of the officers who distributed the photos was alarming and it was concerning certain media outlets decided to publish the images.

The group said this was an opportunity for Victoria Police to further support the trans and gender diverse community.

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“The act of a police officer secretly taking a photograph of an accused person while the person is in custody is extremely dangerous,” ALHR President Kerry Weste said in a statement.

“It damages trust and confidence in the Victoria Police and it damages the community’s faith in the rule of law.”

Laidley played 151 AFL games from 1987-97 and was an inaugural player at West Coast before joining North in 1993.

He played 99 games at Arden St, including their 1996 premiership before he succeeded Denis Pagan as North Melbourne coach in 2003.

In 149 games, he led them to the finals three times before resigning during the 2009 season.

He then had assistant coaching roles at three AFL clubs until 2015 and is currently coach of Melbourne suburban club Maribyrnong Park.

with AAP

Veteran AFL journalist Mike Sheahan claims he’s known Dean Laidley has liked to dress in women’s clothing for over a decade, but says there was never any grounds for him, or anyone in the media, to report it.

Laidley, 53, was photographed wearing a long blonde wig and a dress after his arrest outside a home in St Kilda on Saturday night.

Two senior Victorian constables this week were suspended over the leaked pictures of Laidley inside a Melbourne police station, with both likely to be charged with accessing police information without authorisation.

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Asked by Hawthorn legend Don Scott on the You Cannot Be Serious podcast whether he’d previously known Laidley enjoyed dressing in women’s clothing — and how long he’d known for — Sheahan said: “Yep … I’m guessing maybe 10 to 12 years.”

Scott then questioned why Sheahan, with that knowledge, didn’t further investigate or write about it when he was a full-time reporter.

Sheahan, the former chief football writer of the Herald Sun, replied: “Why should I have written something about a bloke who’s got a bent about what clothes he wears in private?

“Is that in the public interest in it?”

Sheahan said Laidley’s attire choices were only of interest to the public now because he’d been charged by police and the photos of him had been released.

“It’s sad isn’t it … (but) it’s not about being a cross-dresser, he’s facing serious criminal charges,” Sheahan said.

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“His situation is sad. But the issue about whether he’s a cross-dresser – and it was 10 or 12 years ago – if he’s not breaking any law … why would you write about it? And how is it in the public interest?”

Deputy Police Commissioner Shane Patton said on Monday that six police officers were sent the photos via WhatsApp and they could face charges if it’s found they disseminated them further.

The dissemination of the pictures of Laidley in the station’s interview room was an “appalling” act, Mr Patton said.

Laidley is facing stalking and other charges. He remains in custody until May 11 after not applying for bail.

Australian Lawyers for Human Rights said the behaviour of the officers who distributed the photos was alarming and it was an opportunity for Victoria Police to further support the trans and gender diverse community.

“The act of a police officer secretly taking a photograph of an accused person while the person is in custody is extremely dangerous,” ALHR President Kerry Weste said in a statement.

“It damages trust and confidence in the Victoria Police and it damages the community’s faith in the rule of law.”

— with AAP