The identity of the Brisbane theatre producer charged with almost sixty counts of child and adult sex offences has been confirmed as Timothy O’Connor, the former Harvest Rain Theatre Company CEO.
O’Connor was originally arrested and charged by police in November 2022, but due to Queensland’s Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1978, which prohibits premature publication of any accused person’s name or place of employment, ArtsHub was unable to name him or Harvest Rain Theatre Company at the time.
In December, O’Connor faced a two-day committal hearing in the Brisbane Magistrates Court. O’Connor was charged in 2022 after a police investigation of Operation Uniform Cartograph allegedly uncovered a prolonged history of the CEO abusing boys and men.
O’Connor faces charges from seven alleged victims, including rape, attempted rape, sexual assault, indecent treatment of a child, recordings in breach of privacy, fraud, common assault and indecent acts. The alleged victims were aged between 12 and 29.
The committal hearing resolved to dismiss several charges, but O’Connor is expected to face the remaining 48 charges in court proceedings.
The Harvest Rain Group was one of Australia’s largest non-professional theatre companies and closed after O’Connor’s arrest. The company’s apparent success allowed for multi-million dollar arena productions.
Magistrate Lewis Shillito is expected to hand down his committal decision soon. O’Connor is likely to stand trial in Brisbane’s District Court.
