Premier to leave ‘no stone unturned’ over alleged dance school sex attack
Premier Gladys Berejiklian has promised the government will not leave a “single stone unturned” during its investigation of why a man accused of a horrific attack at a Sydney dance school was allowed into the community on parole.
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Premier Gladys Berejiklian has promised the government will not leave a “single stone unturned” during its investigation of why a man accused of a horrific attack at a Sydney dance school was allowed into the community on parole.
A seven-year-old girl was allegedly detained in a toilet at a Kogarah dance studio last Thursday night by 54-year-old parolee Anthony Sampieri.
“That is a shocking set of circumstances and our heart goes out to that little girl and her family,” Ms Berejiklian said.
She backed Corrective Service Minister David Elliott’s urgent request for a full brief on the circumstances and said action would be taken based on what revelations were in this document.
“The Corrections Minister was absolutely correct in getting to the bottom of the circumstances that allowed that person to be on parole and once we get further detail we will determine whether we need to take any further action,” he said.
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She said NSW has the “toughest parole law in the land”.
“We’ve got the toughest supervisions laws in the land and if there are any circumstances in this case that need to be addressed we will make sure we do that.”
“I don’t want to leave a single stone unturned and the Corrections Minister has my full support in getting to the bottom of exactly what happened so we can deal with it.”
She said she shared the public’s “outrage and concern”.
“We need to get to the bottom of exactly what happened, get the facts first but I share the publics outrage and concern as to what’s occurred I want to get to the bottom of it as much as anybody else to make sure it never happens again.”
NSW Opposition Leader Michael Daley today said Ms Berejiklian has “some explaining to do” to the family of girl.
He’s called for a review of the parole system in light of the incident.
Mr Daley said he was concerned there had been a “continual under investment” in the supervision of convicted criminals allowed out early on parole and “something fundamentally went wrong”.
As a former police minister, Mr Daley said he knew “mistakes are sometimes made in the justice system”.
“But a seven-year-old girl?” he said.
“This is more than just a rudimentary mistake.
“You’ve got a government here that can spend billions of dollars on stadiums but can’t seem to find the money for a tracking device for these sorts of low individuals.”
Corrective Services Minister David Elliott has called for an urgent briefing after revelations Sampieri was on parole for what a judge described as a “terrifying” sexual assault of a 60-year-old woman at Fairy Meadow in 2012.
Mr Daley said the safety of citizens was a “number one” priority for governments.
“We know from eight years of budget estimates that there’s been a continual under-investment of supervision of these sorts of characters when they get out,” he said.
“I hope to God that this wasn’t as a result of under investment. But the Premier has some explaining to do to that little girl’s family and everybody else now who’s worried about this happening to them.
“The justice system is not just about locking people away. It’s about monitoring them when they get out to protect citizens and to make sure that people have confidence in the criminal justice system.”
In 2013, the Wollongong District Court heard that Sampieri lured a 60-year-old woman to his home in October 2012 under the pretence of selling her two second hand tables.
Sampieri produced a 25cm knife before sexually assaulting the woman multiple times.
The court heard police found duct tape, a role of wire, cable ties and nylon rope in the bedroom.
The Illawarra Mercury also reported that pornographic DVDs and magazines were found, as well as newspaper clippings featuring pictures of women and phone numbers.
Judge Paul Conlon said the attack was a “terrifying and degrading experience”.
Sampieri was released on parole in September last year, despite his sentence expiring on October 21 next year.
It’s understood Sampieri was subject to “standard” parole conditions but did not have GPS ankle tracker.
Police will claim Sampieri was found naked and sexually assaulting the young girl in the male toilets of St George Dance Studio about 7.55pm.
Sampieri has yet to be charged over Thursday’s incident.
A Corrective Services NSW spokeswoman said his bail was revoked on the night of the attack “following an alleged breach of conditions”.
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