Townsville sex offender Harley Wilkes to remain behind bars after Supreme Court ruling

A court has ordered a Queensland sex offender to remain behind bars indefinitely after he began messaging a 14-year-old girl the same month he was let out of jail for abusing seven children.

A serial paedophile who abused seven young children – threatening to kill two if they told anyone – will remain behind bars indefinitely with psychologists expressing fears he was trying to “play the system”.

Even the defence counsel for Harley Jaymes Wilkes, 27, agreed he should remain in prison after he was caught sending “overtly sexual” messages to a Canadian girl the same month he was released on a supervision order.

Harley James Wilkes.

Justice Jean Dalton cancelled Wilkes’s 10-year supervision order, before taking aim at Queensland Corrective Services for failing to provide him with adequate psychological care.

In September last year, the Supreme Court recommended Wilkes receive at least six months of counselling before the court could assess his rehabilitation and risk to the community.

Justice Dalton said it was “beyond disappointing” that QCS had, in that seven months, only arranged for Wilkes to receive six hours of counselling.

“Two experienced psychiatrists had given the opinion that at least six months psychological treatment and assessment was necessary both for Mr Wilkes’ own benefit, and as a basis for the Court to assess whether or not to continue to detain Mr Wilkes,” Justice Dalton said in her judgment.

“It is beyond disappointing that treatment was not provided as recommended.”

Wilkes began sending manipulative and sexualised messages to a 14-year-old girl the same month he was released from prison.

Wilkes was released from prison in April 2018 after serving four and a half years for sexual offences against seven children, two of whom he had babysat.

While living in Wacol Precinct on a supervision order he was caught with a hidden phone, secreting more than 200 child abuse images – some sexually violent – and messaging a 14-year-old Canadian girl.

“Very soon after his release on that order he began breaching it, in a serious way, concealing those breaches, and all the time apparently remaining co-operative with Corrective Services officers and with his treating psychologist,” Justice Dalton said.

“The content was sexualised and manipulative. It included promises to marry the girl. In some posts he mocked the psychological treatment he was being forced to receive.

“As well as demonstrating a very quick return to sexual offending against children … he demonstrated a very concerning ability to deceive those charged with his supervision and treatment.”

For the offences he committed while in Wacol Precinct, Wilkes was sentenced to four years’ jail and was due to be released in September.

But ahead of his release, two hearings were held to determine whether he should be put on another supervision order or kept behind bars.

Three psychiatrists gave evidence that Wilkes’s risk of sexual reoffending was high.

Psychiatrist Andrew Aboud questioned whether Wilkes believed he was smarter than the system.

“Perhaps he thinks that this is a process to somehow circumvent or play – how to play a system,” Dr Aboud said.

In ordering his continuing detention, Justice Dalton said the “static nature” of Wilkes’s paedophilia and personality disorder risks, along with his ability to deceive QCS officers, posed very significant risks to the community.