May 28, 2026 — 5:00amA magistrate has been disciplined for making disparaging remarks about Melbourne’s swinger community during an application for an intervention order by a woman accusing her former partner of rape at a property known as the Pleasure Palace.Magistrate Carolyn Burnside has been counselled and directed to undertake additional training following an investigation by the Judicial Commission of Victoria into her conduct at Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court in 2024.Magistrate Carolyn Burnside with her husband, former attorney-general Rob Hulls.Kristoffer PaulsenThe JCV, which handles complaints against judges and magistrates, found Burnside’s comments were “stereotyping, offensive and unnecessarily critical of the parties’ lifestyle choices”.“Further, judicial officers should be mindful of the use of language in the courtroom when addressing victims. Whether or not swingers’ events pose a particular risk of sexual assault to women, does not justify language that could be perceived as victim blaming,” a letter from JCV director Alexis Eddy on April 1 said.Burnside, who is married to former Victorian attorney-general Rob Hulls, made the comments while presiding over a mention hearing which detailed the woman’s claims that she had been raped in May 2023 at a property that hosts regular swingers’ parties.The magistrate, who was appointed in 2017, said anyone who attended a swingers’ event was “asking for trouble” and “playing with fire”.“You’ve got no idea who you might meet. I mean, I can’t believe how – you’re both mature-aged and yet, you’re putting yourself at grave risk, in my view, of all sorts of things, sexual diseases. Maniacs can be involved in those sorts of events,” a transcript of Burnside’s comments in court on December 11, 2024, reads.“So that’s my own view. But I won’t be the magistrate dealing with the contest.”Burnside defended her remarks in a statement provided to the JCV on February 13.She insisted they were based on “trial experience wherein consent is at the heart of the matter”, and not “fanciful prejudice”.A report by the JCV said: “The officer describes prosecuting ‘many cases involving such events’ and defending ‘many rapes’ during her 25-year career at the Victorian Bar, and her consequent knowledge of the ‘risks swinger functions pose to people (especially women).’” However, Chief Magistrate Lisa Hannan accepted several recommendations made by the JCV investigation into Burnside’s conduct.“In accordance with the recommendations, I note that I have counselled the officer [Burnside] in relation to appropriate judicial conduct, including affording court users respect, courtesy and tolerance despite their lifestyle choices,” Hannan said in a letter on April 20.“In addition, her honour advised that she has reviewed the recommended material on the JCV website, and she has agreed to attend a JCV program in the next 12 months.”The woman who made the complaint to the JCV said she felt vindicated that Burnside had been held to account. The woman also said the remarks amounted to victim blaming.“This just shows why so many women don’t speak up,” she said. “The police and courts make it even more harrowing for the victims. I wanted to give up so many times, but I kept going to help other women be believed.Chief Magistrate Lisa Hannan said she had counselled Burnside about comments made in court.“But I’m bitterly disappointed ... my attacker was able to drag the IVO hearings out for two years and I consequently only received an undertaking [an assurance to avoid contact].”The woman’s complaint of rape was investigated by detectives from Mernda sexual offences and child abuse investigation team, who decided there was insufficient evidence to support a conviction.“So many people in my community victim-blamed me, called me crazy, said I was being vindictive,” the woman said. “The police at Mernda SOCIT didn’t believe me. So I filed a complaint with [police Professional Standards] and won an apology from police, who admitted that they now believed me but still couldn’t prosecute due to lack of evidence,” she said.The Magistrates’ Court of Victoria did not respond to requests for comment.Burnside’s strident criticism of Melbourne’s swingers’ scene is not her first brush with controversy.In 2010, the Court of Appeal found she had committed a “significant and most regrettable breach of her duty as a prosecutor” by failing to disclose information to defence lawyers about the credibility of an alleged victim in a child sex case.However, Burnside was cleared of any wrongdoing by the Legal Services Board, and a subsequent hearing in the Court of Appeal agreed to temper its judgment after finding that “there exists in a Crown file a note which could justify the prosecutor taking the view that an appropriate disclosure had been made”.Be the first to know when major news happens. Sign up for breaking news alerts on email or turn on notifications in the app.From our partners