Serial rapist Robert John Fardon to be free man after Government loses court bid
NOTORIOUS rapist Robert John Fardon, who has an extensive history of sexual offending including raping a 12-year-old girl at gunpoint, will soon be a free man after the Queensland Government lost a court bid to prevent the move.
Crime & Justice
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NOTORIOUS rapist Robert John Fardon will soon be a free man after lawyers for the Queensland Government lost a bid to have his supervision order extended.
Fardon is one of Queensland’s worst sexual offenders with a history of attacks against females dating back to the 1960s, including the rape of a 12-year-old girl at gunpoint.
He was jailed for 14 years in 1989 for the violent rape of a woman. His full-time release date for that offence was in 2003, but he was kept locked up after being deemed too dangerous to be in the community.
He was finally released on a supervision order in 2006, which he repeatedly breached before being thrown back in jail in 2008 on another rape charge. That conviction was later overturned on appeal.
After a lengthy fight with the Government, Fardon finally won his release on a new supervision order in late 2013.
He spent a further two weeks in prison in 2014 while the Government again tried to have that supervision order rescinded, but has been living in the community ever since without offending.
His exact location has been kept secret, but he is believed to have been living with other sex offenders near a southeast Queensland jail.
Lawyers for Queensland’s Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath took the unusual step of seeking to have his supervision order extended beyond its October expiry date. However they lost their Supreme Court bid yesterday, meaning Fardon, now 69, will no longer be subject to curfews, counselling or restrictions on where he can live.
The Government is considering appealing the court decision to let notorious Fardon live in the community unsupervised.
A spokeswoman for the attorney-general said: “We are examining the judgment and considering our position.”
During their bid to have Fardon kept under strict supervision, the government’s lawyers argued Fardon remained a danger to the community without the order, which gave him support in times of stress, frustration and anger. In dismissing the application Justice David Jackson said psychiatric evidence showed Fardon’s risk of reoffending was low, and that he had shown a strong desire to stay out of jail.
Justice Jackson ruled there were “not reasonable grounds” for believing he was an unacceptable risk if released.
Robert Fardon’s life of crime
1967 — Convicted at 18 for attempted carnal knowledge of a girl under 10. Released on a good behaviour bond.
1978 — Raped a 12-year-old girl, wounded her sister. Fled to the Northern Territory but was caught and jailed.
1988 — Broke parole by travelling to Townsville. Violently raped and assaulted a woman. Sent back to jail.
2003 — Became the first person in Queensland to be jailed indefinitely under new laws targeting repeat sex offenders.
2006 — Released on a supervision order with 32 conditions.
2007 — Breached the order by going to a school, breaching curfew and travelling to Townsville. He’s briefly returned to prison before released in October. 2008 — Re-arrested over rape of a 61-year-old intellectually disabled woman. 2010 — Sentenced to 10 years’ jail for the rape. The conviction was quashed on appeal a few months later but Fardon remained in jail due to other earlier breaches of a supervision order.
2011 — Government launches lengthy court battle to keep him in jail. 2013 — Released on supervision order.
2014 — Brief return to prison before court orders Fardon’s release into supervised accommodation.
2018, August — Court denies a Queensland government bid to extend a supervision order governing how Fardon lives in the community. It expires in October.
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