NSW councillor keeps his job despite pleading guilty to sexual touching

A NSW Council has been slammed for standing by a councillor after he pleaded guilty to sexually touching two victims without consent.

Chadwick Lucas White, 43, is an elected official at Weddin Shire Council in NSW’s central west and was arrested and charged while in office in January last year.

White pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual touching and one count of common assault in December at Young Local Court. He was sentenced to a conditional release order for a period of 12 months without a conviction.

At the time of his arrest, the council said that “at this stage” the matter had not “reached the threshold” to disqualify the councillor.

However, the council now says the incidents were in “settings entirely unrelated to the Council” and that the acts were “entirely private conduct”.

“In this context, the three incidents appear to have been in settings entirely unrelated to the Council,” the statement written by general manager Matthew Skyes said.

“In particular, the conduct was not associated with the Council, and none of the [victims] were Council officials.”

The statement also said that council did not have the power to remove White as his acts had not brought the council into ‘disrepute”.

The court previously heard that White touched the two men inappropriately while at a pub in Grenfell in December 2024.

Michelle Cook, who provided a statement to news.com.au on behalf of Weddin Shire Residents, said the community had a very “different” view when it came to White’s actions.

“The community is very upset about the outcome of the case,” she said.

“How can someone who pleads guilty to charges of a sexual nature against young people in our community, still be held in esteem as an elected member.

Local resident Carolyn Shaw-Phillips also voiced her concern for White’s position in office.

“How is this … not an issue of disrepute?

“No conviction recorded does not mean that the actions never occurred.

White’s conditional release order will expire on December 3.

He is not able to commit any other offence during this time and must appear before court if called upon at any time during the order.

White has been contacted for comment by news.com.au.   

Get in touch sarah.keoghan@news.com.au