In November 2006, Premier of New South Wales Morris Iemma sacked Orkopoulos as a Minister and expelled him from the Australian Labor Party after he was charged with child sex and other offences.
Orkopoulos was sentenced to a further 20 years in jail in November 2023, after being charged with sexually abusing and supplying drugs to four other young children.
Orkopoulos, an Australian of Greek descent briefly trained as a nurse before studying arts at the University of Newcastle, though he did not graduate.
He went on to work for BHP and as an electorate officer for MPs Peter Morris, Don Bowman and Jill Hall.
In March 1999, he was elected to represent Swansea in the Legislative Assembly for Labor, and joined the Socialist Left faction.
"[2] The call, which resulted in the premier's office knowing that the arrest of a senior colleague was imminent, raised questions as to the political independence of the New South Wales Police.
Legal commentator Richard Ackland wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald that "I can't think of a solid reason why third parties should be told by the police that they are about to nab someone important.
"[3] On 7 November 2006, Orkopoulos was arrested and charged with 30 offences including involvement in child prostitution, sexual assault and supplying illegal drugs.
[20] He pleaded guilty to those offences and avoided a prison term when his lawyer, Omar Juweinat pointed out an anomaly in the sentencing laws.