Child rapist banned from associating with boys and girls after sexuality ‘shift’

Paedophile Brian Bowdidge, who was convicted over child sex offences, has had his supervision order varied to restrict his access to all children following a “shift” in sexual orientation.

• Child rapist to fight ban on associating with boys

A child sex offender’s supervision order has been varied to restrict his access to both boys and girls following a recent “shift in his sexual orientation”.

Brian Alan Bowdidge has been convicted over child sex offences and is subject to a three-year extended supervision order which expires in October 2019.

NSW sought to vary the order conditions in the NSW Supreme Court, saying there had been changes in his circumstances that warranted it.

Brian Alan Bowdidge leaving Supreme Court. Picture: Monique Harmer

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On Thursday, Justice Mark Ierace agreed that conditions restricting Bowdidge’s access to female children should be altered to apply to all children.

The state, in seeking the variation, submitted that Bowdidge had recently expressed an interest in adult men.

The judge also allowed other variations related to search and seizure but rejected a proposed ban on accessing pornographic material.

The Daily Telegraph revealed on Monday that Bowdidge was fighting the ban on him associating with boys — claiming he is only attracted to underage girls.

The 58-year-old was released on parole in September and was living at a Corrective Services-run centre which helps high-risk offenders with no alternative place to stay reintegrate into the community.

But he was removed within a month due to concerns for others’ “safety” because of inappropriate behaviour such as reportedly looking at residents through the cracks of the bathroom door.

The 58-year-old was released on parole in September.

His lawyer contested the variation saying Bowdidge had only expressed attraction to adult males, adult females and underage girls. Picture: Monique Harmer

He was then placed in a Minchinbury hotel before authorities made an emergency detention order to put him back in jail for five days because of fears he was “at imminent risk of committing a serious offence”, a court heard.

Bowdidge, who has an intellectual disability, told a supervisor four days into his motel stay he had heightened sexual thoughts “all the time” and he had thoughts about having sex with the female cleaner of his room.

The emergency application was rejected by the NSW Supreme Court in October with a judge saying he was not satisfied the supervision in place was “inadequate” as Bowdidge was effectively locked in his room, electronically monitored and supervised.

On Monday the Supreme Court heard that Bowdidge was now living in Smithfield and the state had abandoned its application for a continued detention order.

It instead applied to vary three conditions of Bowdidge’s existing Extended Supervision Order — a list of strict conditions to supervise “high risk” sex offenders living out in the community.

Bowdidge’s lawyer Georgia Lewer contested the variation saying Bowdidge had only expressed attraction to adult males, adult females and underage girls.

She said it could have a real impact on him — for instance if he were to go the supermarket checkout and be served by a 15-year-old boy.

“What might seem to be relatively benign can in fact constitute a real difficulty for how the defendant lives his life and expose him to extended terms of custody if in breach,” she said.

Bowdidge was convicted of having sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 10 in 1992. In 2001 he raped an eight-year-old girl and was sentenced to three years non-parole.

He was in jail last year for breaching a condition on his extended supervision order.