Australia: Man jailed for 1988 murder of Scott Johnson, who fell from Sydney cliffs known as gay meeting place | World News
An Australian man has been jailed for the 1988 murder of an American who fell from a cliff in Sydney, known as a meeting place for gay men.
Mathematician Scott Johnson’s death was initially called a suicide, but his family pressed for further investigation.
In 2017, a coroner found several assaults, some fatal, where victims were targeted because they were believed to be gay.
Scott White, 51, pleaded guilty in January and was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison on Tuesday.
Judge Helen Wilson said she had no reasonable doubt that the murder was a homophobic hate crime, an aggravating factor that could lead to a longer sentence.
She also said she adopted more lenient forms of sentencing in New South Wales in the late 1980s.
White was 18 years old and was homeless when he met Los Angeles– gave birth to Mr Johnson, 27, at a bar in suburban Manly in December 1988 and accompanied him to a nearby cliff top in North Head.
White’s ex-wife, Helen White, told police in 2019 that her then-husband bragged about beating up gay men and said the only good gay man was a dead gay man. .
The brother of murder victim Scott Johnson, Steve Johnson (right), with his sisters, Terry (left) and Rebecca with his wife Rosemarie (second right). Photo: AP
She told the court on Monday that her husband had told her Johnson had run off the cliff.
White told police that he was gay and was afraid that his gay brother would find out.
Justice Wilson said it was impossible to draw any conclusions beyond a reasonable doubt about what happened at the top of the cliff.
White spent at least eight years and three months in prison before being considered for parole.
‘The offender hit Dr Johnson, causing him to stagger backwards and off the edge of the cliff,’ the judge said.
Wilson added: “In the seconds when he had to realize what was happening to him, Dr Johnson was absolutely terrified.
Beliefs have witnessed ‘dignity’ for victims
Mr. Johnson’s brother, Steve Johnson, thanked prosecutors and the justice system for ensuring White was sent to prison.
“We didn’t get Scott’s compensation this week but what Scott did get was dignity,” he said.
White had previous violent crimes convictions before and after the murders but had not committed any crimes since 2008.
White’s attorneys have appealed his conviction and hope he will be acquitted of murder in a jury trial.
One coroner ruled in 1989 that Johnson took his own life, while a second coroner in 2012 could not explain how he died.
Then in 2017, a coroner ruled Johnson fell “as a result of actual violence or intimidation by unidentified people who attacked him because they assumed he was gay.” .
