High-risk child sex predator Gary John Tipping back in jail after allegedly breaching release order
The Attorney-General and Parole Board tried to stop this uncontrollable paedophile being released from prison, but a judge let him out. Just weeks later he’s back in custody amid horrifying new allegations.
Breaking news
Don't miss out on the headlines from Breaking news. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Alleged sex offenders are about lose right to automatic secrecy
- The benefits you get as an Advertiser digital subscriber
Notorious paedophile Gary John Tipping has been arrested for breaching his high-risk offenders supervision order.
The serial sex offender — who committed shocking sexual acts on four boys as young as eight years old — has been arrested by police and put back behind bars just a month after being controversially released from prison.
It is understood that one of his two alleged breaches involves contacting a minor over the internet.
Tipping was released from prison to live in the community despite a lengthy Supreme Court fight by Attorney-General Vickie Chapman to have him detained indefinitely.
The Supreme Court released Tipping despite warnings from the Parole Board and two psychiatrists that he was likely to reoffend, had a poor insight into his crimes and had not engaged well in treatment.
The Advertiser can reveal that on Tuesday, Tipping was arrested by police at a western suburbs address on a Parole Board warrant for breaching his high-risk offenders supervision order by accessing the internet on two occasions.
An investigation is now underway to determine the extent and nature of his alleged breaches and potential interactions with a child.
Parole Board chairwoman Frances Nelson QC said she was outraged at the situation.
“I am not the least bit surprised by this,’’ she said.
"He is a high-risk sex offender. He was not the type of offender who should have been released on such an order. In fact I question if he should be released at all.’’
A spokeswoman for Ms Chapman said she had been advised of the development in the case.
“The Attorney-General is awaiting advice from the Parole Board and Department of Corrections regarding any breach of Mr Tipping’s extended supervision order,’’ she said.
“As has been canvassed previously regarding this case, the Attorney-General had applied for an indefinite detention order which was refused by the Supreme Court.’’
Last year, Ms Chapman applied to the Supreme Court for an indefinite detention order, or in the alternative, a high-risk offenders supervision order.
In rejecting the indefinite detention order application, Justice Trish Kelly instead ordered Tipping be released on a high-risk offenders supervision order with strict conditions.
Tipping’s multiple offending dates back to 2006 when he received a suspended sentence for sexually abusing two young boys. A month later he abused a 13-year-old boy and was sentenced to six years in prison.
Just two months after being released on parole in 2010, he sexually abused another boy and in 2015 was sentenced to another six years in prison. He was eligible for release on parole in January this year.
In the Attorney-General’s application for an order of indefinite detention, four main grounds were argued to justify such an order.
They were:
TIPPING’S criminal history of sexual offences against four boys aged between eight and 15 and his prior inability to obey the supervisory conditions of a suspended sentence bond, parole, and a paedophile restraining order.
EXPERT evidence from two psychiatrists who both addressed the issue of Tipping’s inability or unwillingness to control his sexual instincts.
EVIDENCE tendered to the court that demonstrated that in the past Tipping had been deceitful, manipulative and lacked any insight into the risk he poses to children.
A SUBMISSION that even with strict electronic monitoring and home detention conditions, Tipping would have an opportunity to come into contact with children and groom them in order to fulfil his sexual urges.
The Supreme Court heard evidence from two respected forensic psychologists, Dr Narain Nambiar and Dr Owen Haeney, who both expressed concerns that Tipping would likely reoffend if given the opportunity.
“What the problem is, is that he has been in situations over many years now where whenever he has been in that situation it’s led to offending,’’ Dr Nambiar told the Supreme Court.
In his evidence, Dr Haeney said he was aware Tipping had a sexual relationship with a 20-year-old man while in prison who looked “much younger’’ than his age.
“Mr Tipping had befriended a vulnerable young man, much younger than he was and looked even younger, and there were similarities between the nature of that relationship and some of his prior offending,’’ he told the court.
Crown Solicitor’s Office lawyer Ben Garnaur told the Supreme Court there were “serious concerns” over the risk Tipping would pose to the community if released, even if monitoring restrictions were in place.
“There is substantial evidence that Mr Tipping over time has been deceitful, manipulative and lacking insight into the risk he poses to children,’’ he said.
In her judgment delivered on August 2, Justice Kelly held that Tipping was unwilling to control his sexual instincts and that his risk of reoffending does not appear to have been substantially reduced by the extensive treatment he has already received in prison — but she still approved his release on the supervision order.
“Without the respondent having previously had the opportunity to comply with such strict conditions, I am not persuaded at this stage that the risk to the community posed by the respondent cannot be adequately addressed by the respondent being subjected to strict home detention and electronic monitoring conditions as part of an extended supervision,” Justice Kelly concluded.
Tipping will return to the Supreme Court at a date to be set for his supervision order to be re-examined.