Brisbane Kmart child attacker sentenced to eight years in prison

Peter Dutton says the sentence for a paedophile who abducted a young girl from Kmart is an “outrage” and he’s calling for a review.

The mother of a young girl who was taken from a Kmart toy aisle and molested by a paedophile has been left “shaken” by his sentence, say child safety advocates.

Prominent child safety campaigner Bruce Morcombe spoke outside court, saying he “fears for the children of Australia” after Sterling Mervyn Free was given eight years in prison over the abduction this morning.

Free will be eligible for parole in August, 2021.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton slammed the sentence as an “outrage” and called for the Queensland government to immediately appeal the decision.

“You cannot have a young girl taken and put in a situation that no parent could ever imagine for their child,” he told the Courier Mail.

“For a child that’s sexually abused or abducted, for somebody to get essentially a penalty of about two and a half years is unacceptable.”

Free, a 27-year-old father of twins who works as an insulation installer, lured the girl from the toy aisle of the Kmart at Westfield North Lakes, north of Brisbane, in December last year and sexually assaulted her.

He returned her to the shopping centre more than an hour later. Free has pleaded guilty to deprivation of liberty, taking a child for immoral purposes and indecent treatment of a child under 12.

In sentencing today, Judge Julie Dick said Free’s offending was “every parent’s nightmare”.

Sterling Free faced up to 20 years in prison.

He was given eight years and will be eligible for parole in August 2021.

Child safety advocates Denise and Bruce Morcombe read a statement on behalf of the girl’s mother outside court, saying she was “shaken” by the sentence.

“While disappointed with the sentence, my daughter and our family are moving forward,” the statement read.

Mr Morcombe also said he believed the sentence was inadequate in terms of being a deterrent.

“The bar needs to be sufficiently high to say to these other people, these other creeps that are out there that have fascination about our kids, don’t go there or you’ll be locked up for decades,” he said. “I’m not sure this sentence does that.”

He added the sentence made him “fear for the children of Queensland and the children of Australia”.

Ms Morcombe also criticised those who had attacked girl’s the mother on social media.

“I think it’s pretty wrong that these keyboard warriors are picking on this family. She’s a great mother and comes from a great family,” Ms Morcombe said.

Also outside court, Free’s lawyer Shaune Irving read a statement from his client.

In it, Free said he was sorry for the “pain I caused her (the victim), her family, and my own family and my children”.

“I today accept the punishment imposed upon me by the justice system,” the statement read. “I do not wish to cause any further pain upon the young victim, her family nor delay justice any further.

The 27-year-old man who lured a girl from Kmart before sexually assaulting her has been sentenced to a maximum of eight years behind bars. He will be eligible for parole in less than two years. Sterling Free’s statement has been read by his lawyer outside court. #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/qOObCLYJi7

— 7NEWS Sunshine Coast (@7NewsSC) October 10, 2019

“I cannot comprehend the pain I’ve caused her. I took away her innocence and scared her family. I hope that today my sentence provides her and her family some closure.

“I can only ever say sorry. I know this is not good enough. I cannot imagine the pain and fear I’ve caused. I can’t take that back.”

He said he will seek treatment behind bars and apologised to his own family for the “immense public scrutiny” they’ve had to deal with.

“My children deserve better. They will now grow up without a father and I can only blame myself,” he said

The girl was taken from a store in Brisbane last December during Christmas shopping.

The girl’s mother has released a statement — saying “no sentence will ever be long enough”.

Worryingly, she also said her daughter was taught about “stranger danger”, but Free was still able to trick her.

“My tiny innocent girl was well aware of stranger danger, however this person was friendly to her and tricked her into following him,” she said in a statement.

“No child should ever have to go through this type of trauma, and no sentence will ever be long enough to make up for the ongoing effects this will have on her.

“We, as a family, remain positive and are trying to move forward. We would like to thank the QPS, the QDPP and the Australian public for their support throughout this ordeal.”

Judge Julie Dick @DistCourtQLD sentenced Sterling Free to eight years imprisonment for the offence of taking a child for immoral purposes, in December 2018. An eligibility date for parole was set at 10 August 2021.

— District Court of QLD (@DistCourtQLD) October 11, 2019

Free faced a sentencing hearing on Tuesday when members of the public gallery cried as footage of the abduction was played in court.

The footage shows Free, a father of two daughters, milling around the toy section of Kmart for about 20 minutes around lunchtime before the girl follows him closely out of the store and centre.

He took her to bushland about 30 minutes away, molested her and returned her to the centre more than an hour later.

Footage shows the girl in the arms of her mother at the service desk.

Crown prosecutor Judy Geary labelled Free’s offending brazen, determined, deliberate and predatory.

Lawyer Shaune Irving said Free was ‘sorry’.

The incident has had a “significant impact” on the girl, Ms Geary said. “He used her for his own sexual gratification,” she said.

Free’s semen was found on the girl’s clothing, the court heard.

A pornography addict with a pedophilic disorder who was himself abused, Free had trouble controlling his impulses, the court heard.

After his offending, Free claimed he “snapped out of it”, broke down in tears and “felt horrible”.

He “hated every bit of” his abusive actions.

But Judge Dick said it was “obvious” premeditation.

“There’s an aspect of this that doesn’t look too impulsive” she said.

Free has been in protective custody in prison since his arrest and pleaded guilty to taking a child for immoral purposes, indecent treatment of a child under 12 and deprivation of liberty.

Mr Irving said earlier this week he was hopeful his client would get somewhere between six and nine years.

Being interviewed on Sunrise on Tuesday, Mr Irving told Natalie Barr his client would “serve a significant portion of that before being eligible for parole”.

Free pleaded guilty to the charges.

His semen was found on the girl’s clothing,

The Courier-Mail reported that Free had been kept in isolation because of threats to him and his family.

The 27-year-old is the father of twin girls and lives with his long-term partner.

Prior to his arrest, Free had worked at a local Fantastic Furniture store after he had spent a number of months working as a FIFO contractor in the Western Australia mines.

Mr Irving told reporters outside court in July that his client was sorry.

“Mr Free’s actions and his instructions to us demonstrate a level of remorse,” he said.

Originally published as Brisbane Kmart child attacker sentenced to eight years in prison