A suspected prostitute puts on clothes at a hotel room during a police raid, as part of plans to crackdown on prostitution, in Dongguan, Guangdong province, February 9, 2014. Chinese authorities have carried out a rare crackdown on the sex trade in the &q
A suspected prostitute puts on clothes at a hotel room during a police raid, as part of plans to crackdown on prostitution, in Dongguan, Guangdong province, February 9, 2014. Reuters/Stringer

Disgraced former MP Craig Thomson may have been acquitted on Monday by Victorian County Judge Carolyn Douglas of 49 counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception charges, but it doesn't mean he won't go to prison. That's because he was convicted on 13 counts of theft.

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The 13 counts are because of his withdrawal of Health Services Union funds through ATM which he used the money for personal expenses, including payment for the services of sex workers. Thomson withdrew $5,000 between 2002 and 2007 when he was national secretary of the union. Besides paying for sex with prostitutes, he also used the funds when he moved homes with his wife to the central coast of New South Wales from Melbourne.

Greg James, the former MP's defence counsel, said that despite the frequent travels of Thomson then, he still served the HSU members. James also pointed out that while paid sex is considered unacceptable, it is not an illegal act.

A suspected prostitute puts on clothes at a hotel room during a police raid, as part of plans to crackdown on prostitution, in Dongguan, Guangdong province, February 9, 2014. Chinese authorities have carried out a rare crackdown on the sex trade in the "sin city" of Dongguan following a candid report by the state broadcaster on the underground industry. Picture taken February 9, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (CHINA - Tags: CRIME LAW)

It was during those trips that Thomson had sex with prostitutes from agencies Young Blondes or Sexy Girl Escorts. He reported the payment made in HSU accounts as "Meetings, national office."

But Douglas retorted, quoted The Age, "I don't care whether he went to a brothel or Bunnings. It's the breach of trust." While the $5,000 that Thomson took was not significant, the judge said his violating the trust of HSU is a very serious thing because of his position in the union.

The case destroyed Thomson's political career since neither Labor Party nor the Coalition then wanted to be affiliated with his vote that during the September 2013 election, he lost his seat as representative of Dobell in the Parliament.

Douglas is scheduled to hand Thomson his sentence on Wednesday.