Convicted child sexual offender Zakhary Raymond Hugh Williams pleads guilty to breaching conditions

A convicted child sexual offender who must comply with strict reporting conditions misled authorities when he moved to a new Queensland town.

Zakhary Raymond Hugh Williams pleaded guilty to three charges including two counts of failing to comply with reporting as a convicted child sex offender and giving false or misleading information.

A convicted child sexual offender on strict reporting conditions misled police by failing to inform officers he had moved from Cairns to Mackay.

A court heard when police performed a compliance check on Zakhary Raymond Hugh Williams in January 2024 they learned he had not been living at his registered address in Cairns for a number of months.

When Williams spoke to police as part of another compliance check in February and was asked if there were any details to change, he said no.

Mackay Magistrates Court heard as of February 17, 2024 Williams had been living at an unreported address.

He was later found living at an address on Bridge Rd in Mackay — he had moved twice without informing police about the new addresses.

The court heard he had been living at his mother’s home, which was the registered Cairns address - he moved to another address in the region before moving to Mackay with a girlfriend.

“I can only draw an inference that you did so to avoid letting authorities know where you were living at that time,” Magistrate Damien Dwyer said.

The court did not hear clear details on why Williams was a reportable child sexual offender.

The 26 year old pleaded guilty to two count of failing to comply with reporting conditions and giving false or misleading information.

Defence solicitor Aaron Sellentin, of Barron and Allen Lawyers, said his client had spent 39 days in pre sentenced custody and wanted to move back to Mackay on his release.

Mr Sellentin said his client’s pleas of guilty were at the earlier opportunity.

The court heard Williams was unemployed when he was arrested.

Mr Dwyer said “the fact he went missing” was the serious nature of the offending adding that on two occasions he deliberately did not give information that would have told police where he had been living.

No clear reason was given for his offending but Mr Dwyer said it was serious given the order Williams must comply with until the end of 2024.

He was jailed for nine months with parole release on August 12 and the 39 days was declared as time already served. Convictions were recorded.