Western Power fires three staff for character references to rapist
Three Western Power employees were fired. They gave positive character references that helped a colleague convicted of rape.
Jeffrey David Spinner was a 59-year-old senior manager at Western Power. In June, he was sent to jail for five years.
Spinner raped a female colleague during a 2024 work trip. Spinner took the victim to his hotel room when she was heavily intoxicated.
He sexually assaulted her. Eight colleagues wrote character references describing him in a good way.
The judge said these references made the crime seem out of character. In August, Western Power removed the three workers who gave those references.
After looking into what happened, the company said all three no longer work there. Western Power said their conduct broke the company's code and values.
Energy Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson called for a separate review. The government is now writing laws.
These laws will stop criminals from using character references to get shorter sentences.
- Five years in jail
- Sentence length
- Three of eight who wrote references
- Employees fired
- June
- Sentencing date
- 2024 work trip
- Crime date
Why it mattersIt shows how employers hold workers responsible. They do this when workers knowingly support colleagues found guilty of serious crimes.
AustraliaWestern Power is WA's state-owned utility. The case prompted WA's government to change sentencing laws to restrict character references.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 46 min ago
