Almost ten years after the death of Melbourne University student Evelyn Stanley, detectives swarmed the East Melbourne property of Professor Julian McCrae and his wife Diana to arrest 31-year-old Nicole Horrowitz, who was discovered in a studio at the rear of the house. Ms Horrowitz has been charged with several offences including child abduction, abuse of a minor, and the production, publication and circulation of child pornography, and will appear in court later today. Melbourne Today understands the McCraes have also been taken into custody and are expected to be charged with similar offences shortly.

Ms Horrowitz’s arrest followed an evening of stunning revelations that senior police officials and high-profile individuals in the higher education sector, including Nathan Farrow, the Dean of Melbourne University, are embroiled in a decades-old child pornography ring, which is believed to be linked to the October 2005 murder of Evelyn Stanley in her St Kilda home and the concurrent disappearance of then-housemate Ms Horrowitz. In 2006 a third housemate, Alexandra Riboni, was convicted of murdering Ms Stanley and served three years in gaol before she was released under a ruling of self-defence. Ms Riboni’s body was discovered in Crystalbrook last week after a suspected suicide.

Melbourne Today understands that Horrowitz and the McCraes are alleged to have been commissioning and circulating child pornography via illegal internet sites, and that these platforms may also have been used to target and locate specific children for the purposes of kidnapping and trafficking.

The child recently in Ms Horrowitz’s custody is unharmed and was not at the property at the time of the arrest. Her identity and suspected long-term abuse is currently being investigated. Detectives are remaining tight-lipped regarding the rumours she is missing toddler Louise Carter.

The alleged involvement of law-enforcement officials in this investigation has reopened the debate about systemic corruption in the force and the protection of whistle-blowers. It is understood that several police officers have been targeted after lodging complaints, with various tactics used to silence them.

Melbourne Today believes the murder of a homicide detective several years ago may be linked to police cover-ups. A major taskforce has been established to investigate, and the chief commissioner is due to provide an update at a press conference later today.

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE: THURSDAY, 17 SEPTEMBER 2015

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

THURSDAY, 17 SEPTEMBER 2015

A FOOD CART RATTLES DOWN THE CORRIDOR OUTSIDE OLI’S ROOM. A nurse with hair curled tight like tiny springs noses it into the doorway. ‘Orange or apple juice, love?’

‘Orange, please.’

Oli’s head still throbs but perhaps slightly less than it did yesterday. She presses the button to elevate the top section of the bed. Drinks her juice and listens to the nurse push the trolley around the ward.