Australian Baseball Hero Neil Barrowcliff Jailed for Child Sex Offences

Australian baseball hero Neil Barrowcliff, known affectionately as ‘Barrows’ in sporting circles, has been sentenced to three years in jail for child sex offences against a teenage girl. The 69-year-old, who has achieved the country’s highest sporting accolades over a fifty-year career, admitted to charges including sexually touching another person without consent, indecently assaulting a person under 16, and producing child abuse material.

The offences, which took place between 2011 and 2022 in northwestern and western Sydney, involved recording material on an Apple iPhone. Barrowcliff, a former international baseball player who represented NSW for 12 seasons in the sport’s Claxton Shield, was first arrested in 2022 and charged with two offences. Additional charges were laid against him last July, with some being dropped in February this year.

Despite his appeal, which includes a two-year non-parole period, Barrowcliff faces remaining behind bars until February 2026 if his application is unsuccessful. The Sydney University Baseball Club, where Barrowcliff was immortalized with the annual Neil Barrowcliff Golden Glove Award, has not confirmed whether the award will still be given out in his name.

Barrowcliff’s extensive career in baseball included playing for Australia three times, coaching School Sport Australia’s Baseball NSW team, and serving as the Pennant Hills High School’s Head Teacher for Personal Development, Health, and Physical Education. His appeal is currently listed before Judge Ian Bourke in the Parramatta District Court.

The fall from grace of this once-revered sports figure has shocked the Australian sporting community, with many grappling with the revelation of his disturbing crimes.