Peter Malinauskas says people have a right to know when sex predators like Colin Charles Humphrys move into their area
Families living in Bowden-Brompton, which may soon become home to a notorious child-sex offender, fear for the safety of young children in the neighbourhood.
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Families living in Bowden-Brompton, which may soon become home to a notorious child-sex offender, fear for the safety of young children in the neighbourhood.
Residents are particularly worried about the habit of children walking the streets unaccompanied during the day and at night.
The potential release of Colin Charles Humphrys into the area has local parents on edge and the Opposition calling for the public to be informed about sex-offenders in their midst.
Salvador Abarzua, 33, said he was worried about the safety of his Brompton-based family if Humphrys was allowed to move into the suburb.
“It’s too easy for someone to do something in a suburb like this,” Mr Abarzua said.
Mr Abarzua’s wife Romina Acosta said she was concerned for the welfare of the couple’s nearly three-year-old daughter. “I have considered moving if he is released here,” she said.
Brompton resident Harry Argyriou said he feared for his three young nephews, all of whom lived in the area.
Thomas Smith’s Gym trainer Chris Evangelou said children as young as five often roamed the streets of the suburbs without their parents.
“We welcome them in here whenever they come past but you do worry when they walk out the door,” he said.
Humphrys’ potential release shows the public needs to be informed about sex predators in their midst, but in a way that does not incite vigilantism, the Opposition says.
Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas said a “wholesale review” of the handling of information about paedophile release orders should be considered.
His call came after radio station FIVEaa broadcast what it claimed was Humphrys’ proposed address in the Bowden/Brompton area, breaching a longstanding court suppression order in the process.
Mr Malinauskas said courts had good reason not to reveal specific details, but conceded that added to the “confusion and danger” surrounding the “white-hot” issue.
“Would I want to know? It’s hard for any parent to say ‘no’ to that question,” he said.
“Courts are best placed to make judgments about whether addresses should be revealed, and we should be guided by the experts in this.
“However, a wholesale review of people knowing where paedophiles reside, in these circumstances, should be considered.
“We’ve got to get the balance right to make sure we don’t incite vigilante behaviour but, first and foremost, give people the ability to keep their children safe and protected.”
Attorney-General Vickie Chapman agreed, but insisted the State Goverment had been the first to suggest such a review.
“I’m pleased to see the Leader of the Opposition has been listening about the comments I’ve been making about the need to consider and further debate the bigger picture here,” she said.
“There needs to be a broader discussion of the particulars that are disclosed to people when (an offender) is coming back into their community.
“In the meantime, the highest priority of the government is the safety and security of all South Australians.”
Humphrys, 66, has been indefinitely detained since 2009 due to his inability or unwillingness to control his sexual instincts.
He was granted supervised release, to Bowden-Brompton, in March last year — an appeal against that decision was unsuccessful.
Humphrys’ release was put on hold, however, after a campaign by his victim “XX” led to the introduction of tough new anti-paedophile laws.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard counsel for Attorney-General Vickie Chapman needed another six months — having already spent 10 months — to prepare their case.
They revealed they were still waiting for one of two expert psychological reports about the potential threat Humphrys posed, despite having requested it in June last year.
Humphrys’ counsel has flagged a bid for him to be released, under the existing order, until the matter has been decided, and that application will be heard next week.
On Thursday morning, radio station FIVEaa broadcast and published a street address at which, it asserted, Humphrys would be housed if he was released.
The Advertiser will not be reporting that information, as all specifics of Humphrys’ possible address have been suppressed since his release was ordered last March.
SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens urged the public not to act on the broadcast.
“Obviously we’re concerned about the potential for vigilante acts that might occur as a result of this, and we caution people to make sure they comply with the law,” he said.
“Anyone who breaches the law in terms of property damage, assault or trespassing will face the consequences for those behaviours.”
He said police looked at Humphrys’ case “from a high-risk perspective”, meaning they would be in a position to respond to any breaches of his strict conditions “as quickly as possible”.
“In the event Humphrys is released, we will have our trigger plan in place,” he said.
“That will enable us to respond in the event that he does not comply with any of the conditions placed against him.”
Commissioner Stevens said existing police resources, both in specialist teams and already in place in the Bowden-Brompton area, were “sufficient” to monitor Humphrys.
“It would be a multi-agency approach in conjunction with the Department for Correctional Services to ensure the required monitoring is undertaken,” he said.
Mr Malinauskas said the public’s “angst and concern” was not the fault of FIVEaa, nor the court.
He said the blame lay with Attorney-General Vickie Chapman.
“The reason why this confusion and upset exists is because the court has not been able to make its decision,” he said.
“The reason it hasn’t been able to do so is because it doesn’t have the report it needs — and that’s unacceptable.
“What has the Attorney been doing for 10 months? Why has she not been asking on a weekly, at least monthly, basis where this report is?”
Ms Chapman disagreed, saying the lack of qualified experts available to draft the necessary report was a result of the previous Labor government’s resourcing decisions.
She said the government had been “picking up that mess” and was preparing to address it legislatively.
“We’ve changed the law (about paedophile release orders) and we’re about to change it again to deal with the reduction of forensic psychiatrists,” she said.
“We have identified a problem, and I’m very committed to reform.
“I’ve had discussions with the Chief Justice and met with specialists, we’re prepared to change the law and Parliament resumes next week … we will clean up this mess.”
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