Sex offender deemed ‘too dangerous’ to be released from Maryborough prison

A convicted sex offender claimed to have been the victim of repeat urine attacks in jail but that wasn’t the most disturbing detail read out in his bid for freedom.

Maryborough Correctional Centre.

A dangerous sex offender will remain behind bars after a judge decided he was an ongoing threat to the community.

This is despite a review of his continued detention order, heard by the Supreme Court of Queensland, revealing Joel George Currie, 37, was complaining about conditions inside Maryborough jail.

The prisoner claimed he had been the victim of between 30-40 “saucing attacks” in which fellow prisoners urinated in sauce bottles and sprayed it at him.

According to court documents, Currie was ordered to serve continued detention in March, 2016.

This year marked the fourth annual review of that order.

Currie’s prison sentence, for a rape committed in March, 2006, as well as cumulative terms for other offences, came to an end on March 13, 2016.

Maryborough Correctional Centre.

At that time it was found that Currie posed an ongoing risk to women and female children.

During his time in prison, he had been diagnosed with anti-social personality disorder and psychopathic disorder, the documents read.

According to one doctor who assessed him, Currie’s behaviour while in custody had been an ongoing challenge.

“His behaviour in prison has been chronically poor, with many prison violations, including incidents of sexually inappropriate behaviour toward female staff, threats of violence toward others, and other challenging behaviours, including self-harm, aggression and threats,” the doctor’s report read.

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“His general behaviour appears to have been associated with emotional dysregulation, and he has frequently claimed that discrimination and racism has been enacted on him by an uncaring and prejudicial criminal justice and health system.”

Other psychiatrists who had examined Currie found he minimised his violent sexual offending, lacks empathy with victims, has little to no remorse and was “ fixated on his own difficulties and has unrealistic post-release plans”.

During his first year in continued detention, Currie had been moved between four different correctional centres and had 22 violations recorded on his history, the documents read.

In July last year, Currie was moved to Maryborough Correctional Centre.

Maryborough Correctional Centre.

Judge Helen Bowskill found that given Currie’s “relative lack of progress” since his last annual review in the Supreme Court, she did not consider that he has demonstrated that his risk for sexual reoffending could be adequately or safely managed in the community, even in the context of a supervision order.

“His problematic and challenging behaviour in prison, some of which has involved anger, aggression, verbal threats, written threats, emotional volatility, and perhaps most worryingly, sexually untoward behaviour toward female staff or visitors, does not in my view suggest that he has attained a level of maturity, self-control and sound judgment that would allow for safe management in a community setting. I am not convinced that he would abide by, or be able to abide by, the conditions of a supervision order at this time.

“Instead, I believe that reasonable protection of the community would be afforded by his continued detention in prison, such that he can build a meaningful therapeutic alliance with his new treating psychologist … and that he again give consideration to the potential benefits of taking antidepressant or mood stabilising or antiandrogen medication.

Maryborough Correctional Centre.

“Further, it is my view that the true test of his readiness for safe release to the community is that he is first able to manage his emotions, to the extent that he is able to appropriately control his behaviour in the custodial environment.”

“Saucing” was said to be the practice where prisoners put urine in a bottle of Worcestershire or barbecue sauce, anything that will stain, and then put that up to the air vent at the top of the cell and squirt so “it goes everywhere in your cell”.

In the court documents, Judge Bowskill said she had “serious doubts” about the credibility of Currie’s evidence generally, including regarding his claims of saucing.

“Having regard to the evidence overall, on balance I consider it reasonable to infer that the respondent has experienced this on at least some occasions, but I regard his evidence of 30 or 40 times as an exaggeration,” the court documents read.

“I consider if that was the case, there would be some record of it, given that corrective services officers would have to get involved in assisting the respondent to clean his cell to some extent at least.”