Adjudication No. 1277  (adjudicated March 2005)

The Australian Press Council has dismissed a complaint by John Barry over an article published on the front page of the Herald Sun newspaper, Car Boot Mystery: Mum's Link To Sex Site on 15 February 2005. The article was part of a continuing story on the disappearance of Maria Korp, of Mickleham, on 9 February and the discovery four days later of the missing woman unconscious in the boot of her car. Mrs Korp had been taken to Alfred Hospital in a critical condition.

The following day the Herald Sun's front-page story reported that Mrs Korp and her husband Joe belonged to an Internet swingers' site through which members seek other couples for sexual liaisons. The article reported that police were "investigating the swingers site in a bid to solve the woman's mystery disappearance".

In his complaint, Mr Barry argued that the article was "sensationalist journalism". He said it was an invasion of Mrs Korp's privacy according to the Australian Press Council's principle that news should be presented with respect for the privacy and sensibilities of individuals.

The Press Council notes that the Korps' entry on the swingers' website was readily accessible and, therefore, in the public domain. The Herald Sun's article reported on a police investigation into a possible link between the swingers' site and Mrs Korp's disappearance.

As the Council's principles note, "The right to privacy should not prevent publication of matters of public record or obvious or significant public interest". The publication was clearly of matters of public record published in the public interest.

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