SA government reveals details of how its child sexual offender register will work, parents to be able to see and find abusers

Parents will finally be able to see the monsters among them as the state government reveals how its child sexual offenders register – called for by advocate Madeleine West – will work.

• Search the Tiser’s sexual offenders list

Parents will finally have access to the locations and photographs of high-risk child sexual predators living in their suburbs once SA’s long-awaited offender register activates.

On Friday, days after The Advertiser published its second annual database of offenders, the state government released details of its own register, which was a 2022 pre-election promise.

It comes as figures show the amount of child sexual abuse allegations or offences heard in the District Court this week exceeded 42 per cent – up from 31 per cent two months ago.

The register will take its cues from the model currently operating in WA.

Madeleine West has welcomed details of SA’s child sex offender register. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Upon filing an application, parents, members of the public, schools, volunteer and sporting groups will be able to access three “tiers” of information:

MISSING offenders, including photos and personal details of convicted abusers who have failed to comply with their reporting obligations or lied to police.

LOCAL searches, providing photographs of “dangerous and high-risk offenders” based on their suburb of residence.

DISCLOSURE, allowing a parent or guardian of a child to “inquire about a specific person” who has “regular contact” with that minor.

Eight of South Australia's convicted child sex offenders. Pictures: File

A government spokeswoman said the register would be operated by SA Police and “housed” in the $19 million digital police station announced in the state budget.

“Work is actively being progressed to achieve this commitment including assessing the WA model’s application in an SA context,” she said.

“The state government remains committed to bringing legislation to parliament within this term of government.

“It is committed to doing everything in its power to crackdown on vile child sex offenders.”

Actor, mother and abuse survivor Madeleine West, who called on the government to honour its pledge, welcomed the “brilliant” news.

“This is a clear demonstration that the conspiracy of silence that has beleaguered society at large for far too long, and denied safety for our most vulnerable citizens, is coming to an end,” she said.

“There is a long way to go but I hope this brings peace to all those people who, for too long, have felt betrayed.

“I hope they can now feel confident their pain is not for nothing, they are not alone and, by telling our stories, we are not just reclaiming our history – we are safeguarding the future.

“I expect that if our federal politicians value the sanctity of childhood, they will follow suit.”

Lawyer Andrew Carpenter says the state must be proactive to deter child sex offenders. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

Lawyer and survivor advocate Andrew Carpenter said he was grateful for the “amazing” news of the register given the ever-increasing court statistics.

“SA no longer has a child abuse problem, it is in the midst of a child abuse epidemic … The stone cold truth is that this is a problem we can’t arrest our way out of,” he said.

“Members of the government are aware of these statistics – this is no longer a knowledge problem, it’s an accountability problem.

“It is amazing to see the government finally move to get on the front foot and deter these crimes from occurring.”