Named: Child abuse offenders out in the Ipswich region community

After committing unspeakable crimes against children these are the child abuse offenders who are serving sentences in the Ipswich community.

Maddie Manwaring

@maddiemanwaring

4 min read

February 8, 2022 - 6:00AM

Ipswich

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From a man who tried to hide behind his wife after being sentenced for molesting a boy to a high-school teacher who indecently treated a child, a number of Ipswich residents have faced court recently on child abuse offences.

After committing unspeakable crimes against children these are the child abuse offenders who are serving sentences while out in the Ipswich region community.

Bryce Paul

Bryce Paul was sentenced in Ipswich Magistrates Court after breaching bail conditions prohibiting him from contacting children under the age of 16.

Paul contacted a 15-year-old in December 2019 and made arrangements for her to attend a premises, in breach of bail conditions relating to matters which were dealt with in the District Court in May 2021.

Magistrate David Shepherd said Paul had then pleaded guilty to five charges of unlawful carnal knowledge with or of children under the age of 16.

“That breach of bail led to a conviction of unlawful carnal knowledge of a child under the age of 16,” Mr Shepherd said.

Paul pleaded guilty on February 1 to one charge of breaching a bail condition and two charges of failure to comply with reporting.

He was sentenced to six months imprisonment for each offence, with each term to run concurrently.

The sentence was wholly suspended for a period of 12 months.

Harold Ernest Lawrence

An Ipswich man last year avoided jail time after pleading guilty to historical child sex offences committed a teenage boy in 1997.

Harold Ernest Lawrence was 59 when he faced the Ipswich District Court for sentencing in October.

The court heard he molested a 13-year-old boy four times over the course of a year.

Lawrence pleaded guilty to three counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16 and one count of indecent treatment of a child under 16 – expose.

However, he avoided jail time due to “exceptional circumstances” as the court heard he had been in a serious motorcycle accident in 2003 which left him with long term injuries.

Lawrence’s lower abdomen was “split in two” and he now suffered injuries to his abdomen, spine, genitals and tailbone, which have left him with no sexual function.

He cannot stand for long periods of time and needs a walking stick, and must go to the toilet every two hours otherwise he regularly soils himself.

His defence barrister said the injuries were worsening with age and his “exceptional circumstances” would make serving actual time in custody difficult.

Lawrence was given a head sentence of 18 months wholly suspended for two years and one day of presentence custody was declared as time served.

Morgan John Hann

This Ipswich region musician and former high school teacher avoid jail time last year after pleading guilty to indecently treating a child.

Former Bremer State High School music teacher Morgan John Hann indecently treated a child under the age of 16 at Ipswich in 2019.

The 37-year-old North Ipswich man pleaded guilty to the charge and was given a nine month prison sentence to be suspended for three years.

His teaching registration has also been suspended.

Tye Hooper

A South Ripley man was due to released into this community early this year after being jailed for indecently treating a 15-year-old boy in June 2020.

Tye Randall Hooper faced Ipswich District Court last year for sentence on four counts of the indecent treatment of a child aged under 16 in June 2020.

Details of the offence cannot be published to protect the identity of the victim, save that Hooper was intoxicated when he committed the disturbing acts.

He was sentenced to a two-year jail term, to be suspended for three years after he had served four months behind bars.

An Ipswich man who sent explicit photos to a child and asked for naked pictures of young girls was back before court in December for breaching a suspended sentence.

While on a suspended prison sentence and parole for multiple crimes Justin Leigh Andrew Neumann was routinely in the company of two children who he failed to report to authorities.

In 2020 Neumann pleaded guilty to wilfully exposing himself to a child under 16 to, three counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16 by procuring to commit, making child exploitation material, procuring a child to engage in sexual activity outside of Australia, using the internet to solicit child pornography material, and using the internet to procure children under 16.

The 28-year-old pleaded guilty in December to breaching his suspended sentence.

It was not alleged the children were harmed in any way and the crime was considered to be ‘trivial’ by the Crown.

Judge Lynch said it would be unjust to evoke Neumann’s prison sentence and increased the period of his suspended sentence by one day.

Neumann was released from custody with 917 days of his remaining suspended sentence hanging over his head

A Brassall man was sentenced last year for masturbating in front a 12-year-old girl.

Blair Peter Kenneth Stenner, who is in his twenties, is in the community on a probation order after pleading guilty in Brisbane District Court to one count of indecent treatment of a child under the age of 16 by exposure.

The court heard the offence happened in Inala about 3.30pm on August 6, 2019.

Stenner approached the 12-year-old girl and placed his hands down his pants to expose his penis and masturbate as he walked past her with a “smile”.

The court heard Stenner, who had an undiagnosed condition of paraphilia, uncontrollable sexual urges, had previously masturbated in front of four other teenage girls.

Judge Katherine McGinness placed him on three years’ probation conditional on him performing sexual offender programs.

A conviction was also recorded, meaning he will be a reportable sexual offender for the next five years.