Principal Lawyer
Andrew George
Every matter at George Criminal Lawyers is prepared and argued personally by Andrew. From the first phone call to the final hearing, the lawyer you meet is the lawyer who runs your case.
Andrew completed his Bachelor of Laws at the Queensland University of Technology in 2010 and spent the next decade at mixed-practice and renowned criminal law firms before establishing George Criminal Lawyers in January 2020.
He has appeared in courts across Queensland and interstate, and the firm is widely recognised for its defence of child exploitation material (CEM) and sexual offence charges. These are matters where discretion and meticulous preparation count most.
- 15+ years in criminal law
- Every matter run personally
- Courts across QLD & interstate
Who will actually be representing me?
Unlike most other criminal law firms in Queensland, at George Criminal Lawyers there’s no chance of your case being handed off to an unqualified law student or law graduate, or to the most junior lawyer in the team. Every matter is prepared and argued by the principal, from start to finish.
About Andrew George
Andrew is a native of Brisbane, having grown up in the suburbs of Brookfield and Kenmore Hills in the city’s western suburbs. Andrew received a mixed education at both private and state schools (Brisbane Boys College and Corinda State High School), which exposed him to diverse communities, shaping his understanding and capacity to connect with people from all walks of life.
Beyond his professional pursuits, Andrew loves spending time in the company of his partner, children, and cherished Golden Retriever. He is passionate about heavy music, computer programming and technology, and dreaming of the next time he can go snowboarding.
Andrew also built The GOAT Page, a free Queensland criminal-legislation lookup used by defence lawyers and firms across the profession.
Experience across Queensland courts
We practice in all areas of criminal and traffic law, including bail applications and appeals, and we’ve appeared in most courts in Queensland as well as interstate in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. We are widely recognised as a leading law firm in Queensland for child exploitation material (CEM) and child abuse material (CAM) charges, as well as for charges involving sexual offences committed against children and adults.
Real Outcomes
Trial: Rape
A client was charged with 2 charges of rape in circumstances where the alleged victim had taken medication and consumed alcohol. She denied consent, so a mistake of fact defence was pursued in addition to actual consent. The client gave evidence and was acquitted of both charges.
Trial: Indecent Treatment & Rape
A client was charged with indecent treatment and rape of his young daughter. Cross-examination of his ex-wife caused significant damage to the prosecution case, establishing the mother had likely influenced the daughter to make a false complaint. The client gave evidence and was acquitted of all charges.
Sentence: Sexual Assault
A client pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a female employee after a work Christmas party. He couldn’t remember details of what happened, so we carefully reviewed the evidence and provided advice on the case and his prospects of conviction. We obtained high-quality references, a letter of apology, and prepared extensive written submissions to the court. The prosecutor asked for a jail sentence, but we achieved a 2 year probation order with no conviction recorded.
Sentence: Possessing child exploitation material (CEM)
A client pleaded guilty to possessing 1 CEM video, which had been uploaded to a cloud storage website (mega.nz). On our advice, he engaged early with a clinical psychologist to address his underlying pornography addiction. By the time of his sentence, he had made significant changes to his life and dealt with the underlying issues. He received a fine with no conviction recorded.
Sentence: Possessing child exploitation material (CEM)
A client pleaded guilty to possessing child exploitation material, which was uncovered after he had uploaded files to a file sharing site (mega.nz). Police located 260 images on his phone, with about 60% in Category 1. There was also evidence showing he had shared links to mega.nz with other users, but he had not been charged for that.
He engaged our services before he was officially charged, and engaged in treatment with our preferred psychologist straight away. By the time of his sentence, he had completed extensive treatment and obtained an excellent recommendation and report from his psychologist. He received 2 years probation with no conviction recorded.
Sentence: Possessing CEM & Observations or Recordings in Breach of Privacy
A client was charged with possessing CEM and recording someone in a state of undress (observations/recordings in breach of privacy). He was immediately referred to expert psychologists for treatment. Meanwhile, we negotiated the facts of the matter with the DPP, resulting in very favourable agreed facts. He received a 2 year probation order, with no conviction recorded.
Sentence: Importing Tier 2 goods (CAM)
A client pleaded guilty to an offence of importing Tier 2 goods (child abuse material – CAM) by bringing it into the country on his mobile phone and iPad. There were 16 CAM files: 14 videos and 2 images. Against our advice, he did not engage in treatment, but did see a psychologist to obtain a forensic report about his risk factors. He avoided jail, receiving a wholly suspended sentence of 12 months imprisonment, plus probation for 2 years.
Charges Dismissed: Possessing CEM & CAM
A client was charged with possessing CEM and possessing child abuse material obtained using a carriage service. After careful analysis of the forensic reports, we successfully negotiated for both charges to be discontinued in the Magistrates Court based on our deep understanding of the electronic evidence.
