A former private schoolboy and promising young lawyer, Oska Purcell, 27, has been charged with rape, multiple child sex offenses, and supplying drugs to a child. Purcell is currently in custody on remand after previously being charged with 16 offenses relating to an underage girl. The rape charge was added last week.
Purcell, who graduated from Cranbrook School and Macquarie University in 2021, had been working as a junior solicitor at the prestigious Sydney firm Pryor, Tzannes and Wallis. His legal practicing certificate, which had been suspended by the NSW Law Society, will remain canceled. He has been suspended from his position at the law firm.
The charges stem from alleged incidents involving a girl who was 15 years old in 2019. Police allege Purcell sexually assaulted her and supplied her with drugs. The alleged victim, now in her early twenties, reportedly filed her complaint in October of the previous year. The investigation was conducted by the Eastern Suburbs Police Area Command under Strike Force Barrhead.
Purcell faces multiple charges, including five counts of aggravated sexual assault against a victim under 16, two counts of intentionally sexually touching a child between 10 and 16, two counts of intentionally choking, and supplying a small quantity of drugs to a child under 16. Additional charges include using a carriage service to procure a child under 16 for sex, three counts of having sexual intercourse with a child aged 14 to 16, and one count of supplying a prohibited drug.
Before his arrest, Purcell resided with his father, Andrew Purcell, executive chairman of Melbana Energy, in a six-bedroom home in Sydney. The Law Society of NSW confirmed last year that Purcell's practicing certificate was suspended due to the serious nature of the charges he faced.