Mark Jamieson, who represented Australia in the Beijing Olympics and who won a world team pursuit title in 2006, has pleaded guilty to multiple child sex charges.
The 25 year old Tasmanian appeared before the South Australian District Court today and admitted four counts of unlawful sexual intercourse and one count of indecent assault. He pleaded not guilty to one count of gross indecency.
Jamieson first represented Australia in 2001 and won the world individual pursuit title for juniors the following year. In 2003 he took the first of four national individual pursuit gold medals, then in 2006 he was part of the team pursuit squad that won gold at the world championships. He represented the country in the Beijing Olympics.
He had ambitions of making the breakthrough on the road, stating on Cycling Australia’s website that he was aiming to compete in the biggest events. He listed his goal in the sport ‘to be the best I can be, to become a professional cyclist and to ride the Tour de France.”
Jamieson had been selected to ride in the 2009 world track championships but stepped down suddenly from the squad. He cited personal reasons as an explanation.
The charges relate to alleged conduct in Adelaide between November 2008 and January 2009. The admitted offences relate to a girl who was 15 at the time, while the denied gross indecency charge concerns another girl, who was also under 16.
His case has been adjourned until March. In the meantime the Crown will consider how it would proceed in relation to the gross indecency charge.
The rider has been excused from attending court next month.
His lawyer Anthony Crocker unsuccessfully attempted to keep his name suppressed until the trial, following on from an order made in the Adelaide Magistrates Court last month.
As Jamieson faced the possibility of separate trials in relation to the two victims, Crocker argued that his pleas relating to one case should not be known to a jury considering the other. However the judge, Peter Herriman, rejected this and allowed the suppression of his name to expire today, as had been originally scheduled.