Convicted paedophile cleared to run family‑friendly Sydney apartment blocks

Jeffrey Stanley Rosenstrauss was granted a strata management and real estate licence despite NSW Fair Trading being aware of his historic child sex offence convictions. (ABC News: Jo-Yi Hsu)

Jeffrey Stanley Rosenstrauss was granted a strata management and real estate licence despite NSW Fair Trading being aware of his historic child sex offence convictions.

He manages residential blocks across Sydney's northern beaches and eastern suburbs, with apartment owners expressing concern about the arrangement.

A spokesperson for NSW Fair Trading said it would look into the "circumstances surrounding this matter".

The NSW government has authorised a convicted paedophile to manage nearly a dozen apartment buildings across Sydney, including those popular with young families.

Jeffrey Stanley Rosenstrauss was granted a strata management and real estate licence despite disclosing his crimes to the regulator, which included horrific attacks on a schoolgirl in the 1970s and 80s.

The ABC has confirmed Rosenstrauss, who was jailed in 2011 for historical child sex offences, is currently working as a strata manager at residential blocks in Dee Why and Newport on the northern beaches, and Bondi, Point Piper, Randwick, Woollahra and Maroubra in the city's eastern suburbs.

NSW Fair Trading deemed Rosenstrauss a "fit and proper person" in 2019, allowing him to resume working in sector.

Under the legislation, grounds for disqualification include convictions for offences involving dishonesty and financial mismanagement.

The ABC has spoken to multiple owners in Dee Why apartment complex Havana, which is managed by Rosenstrauss.

Property listings for the new build highlight its proximity to local schools and child care, and the suburb is marketed as family friendly.

"We have a three-year-old girl. The idea there is a convicted paedophile that has access to our building doesn't really sit well," one owner said.

Rosenstrauss is the strata manager for a number of apartment blocks. (ABC News: Simon Amery)

Strata managers are authorised by the building's owners corporation to access common property to attend to building repairs and maintenance, and can access private units with the occupier's consent.

NSW Fair Trading did not reveal it had previously refused Rosenstrauss a licence in 2011 after he pleaded guilty to historical child sex offences.

John Glynn owns an apartment at the Havana building, where Rosenstrauss is a strata manager. (ABC News: Simon Avery)

"Why weren't we told that? Why weren't we given the information by Fair Trading so we could make an informed cho