Why won’t state’s top justice leaders answer these questions?

The state’s Police Commissioner, Premier, Corrective Services Minister, Police Minister and Attorney-General yesterday all failed to answer crucial questions about a rapist, who was free to allegedly sexually assault a seven-year-old girl in a dance studio toilet.

• ‘My brush with the accused Kogarah monster’
• Kogarah dance studio sex attack accused was on parole
• Woman reported crude phone calls by alleged attacker
• Ray Hadley: Shameful parole failures show board not fit

The state’s Police Commissioner, Premier, Corrective Services Minister, Police Minister and Attorney-General yesterday all failed to answer how a convicted rapist was free to allegedly sexually assault a seven-year-old girl.

On Monday The Daily Telegraph exclusively revealed that predator Anthony Sampieri allegedly sexually assaulted the girl while on parole.

A seven-year-old girl was allegedly threatened at knifepoint and sexually assaulted at the St George Dance Studio in Kogarah. Picture: Damian Hoffman

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During a terrifying 30-minute ordeal in the toilet of a dance studio just 400m from Kogarah police station, he allegedly threatened her at knifepoint.

Yesterday the Telegraph reported Sampieri had breached his parole conditions after allegedly making crude phone calls to a woman before the alleged attack — yet his parole officers were never told.

Sampieri has yet to be charged over the latest incident.

But NSW’s top brass have pointedly refused to answer the most important questions about the debacle, either completely ignoring them or releasing a statement that failed to address The Daily Telegraph’s queries.

Police Commissioner Mick Fuller failed to even show up to a press conference about the police’s devastating bungles, instead leaving Deputy Commissioner Jeff Loy to face the barrage.

Mr Loy described Sampieri, 54, as a “danger to society”, but said: “Nobody can predict the future or the future actions of any ­person.”

Last night it was revealed that a police officer who was running the ­offensive phone call investigation has been stood down from operational ­duties.

Pending an internal inquiry, the senior constable has been banned from interacting with the public.

More women have since come forward to police reporting calls that may have come from Sampieri.

NSW Police have admitted a massive failing in their handling of Sampieri, who was on parole having served time in prison for the rape of a 60-year-old woman.

They said he was interviewed weeks before this latest incident over the alleged obscene call to a woman in Sydney’s south.

Sources said the woman did not want to press charges.

But despite terms of his parole, ­including that he “must be of good behaviour and must not commit any offences”, police still did not notify Corrective Services he was being interviewed. If they had, Sampieri’s parole could have likely been revoked and he could have been locked up.

While Premier Gladys Berejiklian released a statement saying she couldn’t “imagine the pain and suffering” of the victim, she failed to explain how the series of screw-ups that led to Sampieri being out in the community were allowed happen.

She failed to answer how people can trust they are safe from parolees in light of the recent terrifying revelations and there was also no answer on what she is doing to prevent this from happening again — besides awaiting the outcome of a police investigation into their own mistakes.

There has been no deadline for when this investigation — headed by Mr Loy — will conclude, or any indication that its findings will ever be made public.

“The community must be protected from criminals who pose a risk of reoffending. It is not acceptable for those standards to slip,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“We will consider all measures possible to ensure that something like this can never happen again.”

The dirty toilet cubicle where the alleged attack occurred. Picture: 9 News

Attorney-General Mark Speakman — who has responsibility for administering justice in NSW — failed to provide any answers to questions put to him, while Corrections Minister David Elliott said he was “horrified” Sampieri was granted parole in 2017, but shifted focus to the police.

Police Minister Troy Grant said: “The initial indications are that police could have done more, and if that is the case, I’ll expect swift action to be taken …. The investigation now needs to be allowed to take its course.”

The Telegraph also put 14 questions to Mr Fuller.

“We have done a press conference to fully disclose the circumstances … and there will be no further comment at this time,” a police spokesman said.

But Labor leader Michael Daley said: “This poor little girl and her family have been through hell. Something needs to happen, someone needs to be accountable, the Premier needs to make sure someone’s head rolls.

“This is a horrific failure of the ­justice system.”

Editorial: Someone must take responsibility for this sickening mess

Following shocking revelations that a convicted sex offender who was free on parole had allegedly raped a seven-year-old girl, Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Monday defended the state’s plainly porous parole system

“NSW has the toughest parole laws in the land,” the Premier said.

“We have the toughest supervision laws in the land.”

We now know how that supposedly tough supervision works in practice.

Put bluntly, it doesn’t.

And nobody is prepared to take responsibility for a situation so shameful and debased that by now possibly dozens of officials at various levels should have been fired, or their positions at least be under serious review.

Convicted sex criminal Anthony Sampieri, 54, was free on parole following another sex attack in 2012.

A man is treated for stab wounds after intervening to end the alleged sex attack. Picture: 9 News

According to authorities, the terms of his parole were extremely strict.

One month ago, a woman complained to officers about a series of offensive phone calls allegedly made by Sampieri to her.

He was interviewed by police but he was not charged.

Nor was Sampieri reported to parole officers, who should have then put him behind bars for breaching his parole conditions.

And then, weeks later, Sampieri allegedly raped a little girl.

Yet Deputy Commissioner Jeff Loy claimed nobody could have foreseen Sampieri’s alleged crime.

This claim runs counter to the very nature of human society.

If someone has a sex conviction, is on parole for another sexual offence, and is allegedly contacting women with obscene phone calls, it should be a fair assumption this person could again offend.

As things stand, our leaders have failed to explain how that reasonable assumption about Sampieri did not lead to his parole being revoked.

That explanation must be forthcoming. The people of NSW demand answers.