Warwick detective reveals how police arrested, charged and locked up horror predator in less than six months

After the horror offending of one of the state’s most sordid pedophiles was uncovered, police raced to catch him as soon as possible. Here’s how the investigation unfolded and the man was brought to justice.

For one regional Queensland detective, uncovering and investigating depraved offending against children is sadly all part of the job.

It’s something they have to do, part of the role, and simply “not dwell on it”.

After one man’s putrid offending came to light, quick thinking and successful police work was able to keep the man from hurting another child.

Legally the man’s identity cannot be revealed to protect the identities of the three victim survivors, and his crimes are so severe and disturbing they cannot be printed.

The heroic quick thinking of detectives and police officers was enough to ensure the sick offender was able to be held in custody to prevent further offending during the investigation.

COMPLAINT

The horror offending of one Southern Downs man came undone, and within months, he was in a jail cell where he will spend the next decade.

In June of 2024, officers received word of a complaint made by a young girl at a school, and upon hearing of this complaint raced to the school.

“We go that afternoon to speak to the children at the school to make disclosures at home, and we know it needs immediate action,” the detective said.

“We go directly to the house as we know we have to protect the children who are currently at the school.

“You know the child cannot go home in the circumstances.”

Within hours of the complaint, police had gone to the house of the offender, and brought him to the station.

The offender was not known to police and it is understood had no previous criminal history.

It is understood the man did not have any prior criminal offending and likely was not known to police.

“He was interviewed and made (some) admissions the very same afternoon, and were able to interview the other children too,” the officer said.

The quick thinking and interviewing by the police ensured they were able to arrest and charge the man the very same day the complaints were first aired.

“We were able to keep him in custody and made sure the offending stopped there,” he said.

The detective said, as echoed during the man’s later sentencing, during the first police interview the man’s portrayal of himself “did not reflect the enormity of the situation”.

“He downplayed the offending and even from an attitude point of view he didn’t seem to acknowledge how bad this was. It was truly terrible offending,” the detective said.

FAST TRACKED

The detective knows the justice system can be slow and complex and it was “rare” for a case to go through District Court so quickly for a sentence.

“It’s easy for the investigation to continue swiftly when you know the offender is in custody, once you remove that issue and kept the children safe, and if you need to revisit and re-interview any of the complainants (as) you know he has no influence on the result of those interviews,” the detective said.

Quick thinking Warwick detectives arrested and charged the man on the day of the initial complaint.

“Any defendant can make it happen, if they read the brief of evidence and say they’re guilty the solicitor can move it through, but this was as tight as you could get it done.”

Within five months, the man would be pleading guilty in front of a judge.

“Different people plead guilty for different reasons. He knew what he had done, and what he had told us he had done to the victim-survivors, and those kids knew.

“It put him in a position where it would have been difficult for him to take it to trial. If he got found guilty at trial he would have gotten significantly more jail time.”

MONSTER BEHIND BARS

In November, the man, a Southern Downs man aged in his 40s, plead guilty to three charges of maintaining a sexual relationship with a child under 16.

The man was nabbed by police who uncovered his sick offending only months earlier, and was fast tracked through the court system.

Warwick District Court.

The predator seldom looked up at Judge Craig Chowdhury during his sentencing.

The nature of the offending is simply to vile and sickening to publish.

“It happened so often the complainants could only visualise the most recent one,” crown prosecutor Catherine Birkett said at sentencing.

“(The offending) will have a profound and long standing effect on these children and their mother,” she said.

Judge Chowdhury said the three girls were all offended against multiple time a week, for months while in the care of the man.

“You have no care for the wellbeing of the young girls, I have no doubt they’re traumatised for what you did,” the judge said.

“I hope the three girls can put this behind them the best they can and get the support they need.

INVESTIGATION’S TOLL

The investigation into sordid crimes, particular child sex crimes are sometimes extremely distressing for those who have to bring the perpetrators to justice.

In this circumstance, the monster’s blatant disregard for inflicting trauma on multiple victims on multiple occasions is truly horrific, and he was one of the region’s worst offenders.

“We just need to be effective,” the detective said.

“Our investigation needs to be effective to get the outcome. We need to be professional, and present something (to the DPP) that puts them in a strong position should it go to trial.

“If you can put together a strong (crime) series that’s how you can get a guilty plea, as there’s no way to attack or discredit the evidence or investigation.

“The fact the investigation was successful is rewarding for those involved. If you dwelt on it and the nature of the offending, it wouldn’t be very good. You try not to dwell on it.”

The detective said parents are aware that child sex offences can happen but fail to understand that computers and social networking make it easier to occur.

“Parents need to be vigilant and keep an eye out, and simply just talk to their kids and communicate to their kids,” he said.

The man was sentenced to 14 years in prison, and declared a serious violent offender, meaning the man must serve at least 80 per cent of his sentence.

The man will be behind bars for at least 11 years, and it can be revealed he is being housed at Maryborough Correctional Centre.