Notorious paedophile and former magistrate Peter Liddy applies for parole
A former Adelaide magistrate who received a 25-year prison sentence for abusing young boys in the 1980s has applied for release on parole, after serving 18 years behind bars.
Notorious paedophile and former magistrate Peter Liddy has applied for parole after serving 18 years of a record 25-year prison sentence.
While Liddy’s parole application is pending, the Crown Solicitor’s Office continues to prepare advice for the Attorney-General on the chances of applying to the Supreme Court to keep Liddy behind bars indefinitely.
In 2001, Liddy was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted of five counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a child under 12, four counts of indecent assault and one count of attempting to bribe one of his victims into not giving evidence.
The victims of his sustained abuse were young members of the Brighton Surf Lifesaving club in the 1980s.
The true scope of Liddy’s offending is unknown. as people came forward alleging further abuse between 1969 and 1983.
However, those crimes fell outside the former statute of limitations for sex offences – which has since been abolished.
He won a permanent stay of proceedings on those charges in June 2010.
Liddy amassed a tidy fortune as a long serving magistrate, including a collection of historical artefacts. His resources dwindled during his subsequent trial and, in 2012, his lawyers settled on compensation to two victims and five other men who claimed Liddy had abused them.
Earlier in 2019 Attorney-General Vickie Chapman confirmed she had passed Liddy’s case on to the Crown Solicitor’s Office to review whether he could be indefinitely detained.
In order to keep Liddy detained the Government would need to apply to the Supreme Court and show that he is still a high risk of offending if released into the community.
It is understood the Department of Corrections has written to Liddy’s victims and they will be given the opportunity to present submissions to the Parole Board.