The high-profile prosecution of a detective accused of circulating images and messages about former AFL coach Dani Laidley is at risk of collapsing over an administrative error that led to more than 1260 officers being wrongly sworn in, a court has heard.

Police have confirmed that between July 2014 and August last year, hundreds of police, protective service and custody officers were not sworn in correctly as graduates by acting assistant commissioners who didn’t have the required delegation.

Detective Leading Senior Constable Murray Gentner in 2019.Credit:Joe Armao

The errors – which were a result of amendments made to the Victoria Police Act in 2013 – were identified in a review and the police force plans to urgently correctly swear in the affected officers.

As police and lawyers on Thursday considered the possible implications of the mistake, a prosecutor in the case against Detective Leading Senior Constable Murray Gentner told Melbourne Magistrates Court the swearing-in bungle could affect the case.

Prosecutor Neill Hutton said checks were required to determine whether Detective Senior Sergeant Josh Chadwick – the lead investigator in the case against Detective Leading Senior Constable Gentner – was one of officers affected by the swearing-in error.

“If there’s an issue with the swearing-in of Detective Chadwick, that may be fatal to the prosecution case,” Mr Hutton told magistrate Samantha Poulter.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton discusses the effor over the swearing-in of officers.Credit:Wayne Taylor

Mr Hutton said there was also a potential problem over the evidence of some police officers who had given evidence in the case, if it emerged they were not correctly sworn as officers.

It was also possible that only one of the six charges against Detective Leading Senior Constable Gentner – misconduct by a public official -could “survive”.

The prosecutor said he and the accused detective’s lawyer, Christopher Carr, SC, had agreed they should continue hearing evidence in the contested hearing while they checked the investigator’s status, but asked Ms Poulter to defer making her verdict until the position was clarified.

Detective Leading Senior Constable Gentner, 43, has pleaded not guilty to misconduct in public office, accessing a police database without reasonable excuse, and four counts of disclosing police information without reasonable excuse.

He is accused of illegally circulating images of Ms Laidley, that were taken of her in St Kilda police station in May 2020 after she was arrested for stalking. The former Kangaroos coach, who was wearing a wig and make-up in one of the photos while being interviewed by two officers, was later convicted and put on a good behaviour bond.

The photographs of Ms Laidley were widely circulated and entered the public domain through social media.

Detective Leading Senior Constable Gentner is also accused of describing Ms Laidley as a “full-blown ice head and tranny” as he and eight other officers discussed her arrest in a WhatsApp message group.

His hearing continues.

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