Tag: Gladesville

Gladesville Attack Preceded Police Officer’s Alleged Data Breaches

Suspended NSW Police constable John Paul Vassallo, charged with multiple data breaches, suffered a stabbing attack in Gladesville that preceded the majority of his alleged unauthorised database access, Penrith Local Court heard on Monday.

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The November 2021 Gladesville incident, where Vassallo was stabbed in the head by Zubair Joarder while responding to a siege, was highlighted during his bail hearing. Court documents show that following this attack, Vassallo allegedly accessed the NSW Police COPS database without authorisation approximately 600 times.

His attorney Hisham Karnib presented evidence of Vassallo’s ongoing PTSD treatment stemming from the Gladesville attack. Joarder was sentenced in August 2023 to six years imprisonment with a three-year non-parole period.

The 29-year-old officer faces 11 charges, including misconduct in public office and unauthorised access to restricted data. Prosecutors allege he searched for information about bikie gang members, persons of interest in a Marrickville shooting, and various personal associates.

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Magistrate Brian van Zuylen granted bail with conditions including a $10,000 surety and restrictions on accessing police systems. The case continues at Sydney’s Downing Centre in March.

Published 13-January-2025

AJ Roach: Why Doesn’t the Famous Water Polo Star Play Rugby Like His Dad?

The Gladesville-based water polo player AJ Roach, the son of the National Rugby League enforcer Steve Blocker Roach, has opted not to follow in his father’s footsteps despite playing the sport in high school.

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Aidan “AJ” Roach, a two-time Olympian and water polo star based in Gladesville, confesses that he’d prefer not to join his father in the professional rugby scene — a sharp contrast from numerous other father-son duos in sports such as Wayne and Mitchell Pearce, Matty Johns and his two children Jack and Cooper, as well as Kevin and Billy Walters. 

Born in 1990, AJ Roach began his professional water polo debut at 19 years old. Despite the fact that he’d played rugby during his teen years, AJ confessed that he was clumsy on land and found much more comfort maneuvering in the water. He’d learned that rugby wasn’t his strong suit the hard way, playing the sport until he turned 15. 

In 2009, at the age of 19, AJ made his debut with the Aussie Sharks, the Australian Men’s water polo team, and he also managed to win a gold medal at the World University Games. Since then, his water polo career had gone swimmingly.

In fact, AJ Roach became a certified Olympian shortly afterwards, having competed in the 2012 London Olympic Games, as well as the  2016 Rio Olympic Games. He also competed in the 2011 FINA World Championships. 

To this day, he still plays with the Aussie Sharks, bidding to go to his third Olympic Games later this year by vying for a spot in the Tokyo Games, which are scheduled to take place between the 23rd of July and the 8th of August 2021.