Paedophile Shannon McCoole jail term cut: Former court reporter Ken McGregor says Judge’s decision is the right one

THE decision to cut the jail term of paedophile Shannon McCoole does not pass the pub test. But it is the right thing if more are to be caught, writes Ken McGregor – who was in the court when the sentence was handed down.

• Earlier today: Predator’s sentence reduced by three years
• Families SA paedophile Shannon McCoole sentenced to 35 years
• Inside story: How Shannon McCoole turned into a monster
• He tore apart our reality: What McCoole’s victims said
• Danish cops paedophile ring probe snared Shannon McCoole

DISTRICT Court Judge Paul Rice’s decision to shave a couple of years of depraved ex-Families SA child predator Shannon McCoole may not pass the pub test but it is the right one.

It outrages all decent South Australians that one of our most notorious paedophiles, who used his position as a carer for the state’s most vulnerable kids, to inflict such horrific abuse would ever be given some sort of win by the courts.

I was in the courtroom when McCoole tearfully told the court of his remorse and how he had he took the Families SA job thinking that he could help children, but was “lonely, depressed” when he committed the crimes.

He claimed he had been trying to resign from his post as chief executive of a sick website, which had thousands of followers throughout the world and required members to post pictures of fresh abuse every 30 days or face a ban, but felt trapped.

I’ll never forget Judge Rice stopping proceedings during this display and carefully, and slowly reading out loud this email from McCoole to his depraved fellow administrators just months before he was caught.

“This has been a hard year for (suppressed website) and myself, but for all the issues you guys have managed to push through and continue to not only deliver a quality board but helped to build upon our already good reputation,” McCoole wrote.

Shannon McCoole was sentenced to a near-record 35-year jail sentence.

“(This website) is something I’m very proud to be involved in and something I wish I could share with those close to me. If I could write all of you references I would.

“We do something that thousands rely on and visit almost daily and we do it with risk to our lives and while hiding from the law.

“This is a huge undertaking and something that most others would do only for reward. The simple thing is that at (suppressed website) we don’t get any rewards we just put in a lot of effort. I hope this gives you something special for Christmas whether you celebrate it or not.”

This document, proving McCoole’s hypocrisy, may never have come to the media’s attention without Judge Rice’s decision to read it aloud to the court that day. I have no evidence to support it, but I believe this was a calculated decision.

Judge Rice cut through McCoole’s BS and sentenced him to a staggering, but deserved near-record 35-year jail sentence with a 28-year non-parole period. In comparison, murderers, depending on the case, regularly get 20-years non-parole.

In doing so, he set a precedent and sent a message to other predators that if you abuse kids and came before the courts you will be shown no leniency.

At the heart of this sentence was the absolute desire to do everything in his power to deter other would-be-abusers and protect other kids from them. Today’s decision to shave McCoole’s sentence, may seem to be doing the opposite, but is for the same reasons.

Others convicted of such crimes must have some, albeit small, motivation for turning state’s evidence against their sick peers so other kids can be protected.

Judge Rice’s decision has nothing to do with sympathy for McCoole and everything to do with the safety of children. And as much as a reduction in jail time for such a person angers us, we must remember that.