Maggie Kirkpatrick Ruled Guilty Of Child Abuse After Portraying Warden Who Molested Inmates: Abuse Statistics [Video]

Maggie Kirkpatrick earned fame as an Australian soap opera actress portraying a cruel warden who used her responsibility of searching bodies to molest vulnerable inmates. But now Maggie has been found guilty of child abuse, reported MSN.

In the cult show called Prisoner in Australia and Caged Women overseas, Kirkpatrick’s character was called “The Freak.” But the magistrate ruled that there was nothing fictional in the charge that Maggie had molested a 14-year-old girl in her own home 30 years ago.

The girl, who was a psychiatric hospital patient, had been a fan of Prisoner. The court convicted her of two counts of indecent assault and one count of gross indecency. And although Kirkpatrick pleaded not guilty, Magistrate Peter Mealy ruled against her.

However, no prison term was imposed upon Kirkpatrick, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.

Instead, the 74-year-old actress will need to complete 100 hours of community service under the 18-month community corrections order. In addition, Kirkpatrick will remain on the sex offender registry for eight years. Maggie also was told that she must submit a DNA forensic sample, and was informed by Mealy that the police have the right to restrain her to take that sample.

“I agree to the community directions order, your honour,” said Maggie.

Mealy also revealed why he did not hesitate to issue a guilty verdict.

“The victim was a vulnerable 14-year-old child,” said the Magistrate. “The vulnerable in our society need to be protected.”

The victim had received an invitation to Kirkpatrick’s house in 1984. Although the sexual assault occurred then, the young woman waited before telling the police about it two years ago because she feared being doubted. But Mealy emphasized that he felt the account of the abuse was valid.

How frequently does child abuse occur? The Ark of Hope for Children reveals that 40 million children are subjected to abuse annually. An estimated 25 to 30 percent of children say they have been physically abused, and 20 percent of women report that they were sexually abused when young. In addition, five to 10 of men say that they were sexually abused.

In the United States, one in three girls will be molested before they turn 17, while one of six boys will go through that tragedy. A child is raped every two minutes. And of those who molest children, 90 percent of them abuse kids with whom they are already acquainted.

As the Inquisitr reported, Woody Allen recently discussed his “paternal” marriage to Soon-Yi, who is 35 years younger, and denied charges that he had sexually abused Dylan Farrow.

[Photo by Gaye Gerard/Getty Images]