Darling Downs pedophiles lead QLD in breaching reporting orders

Child sex offenders are amassing hundreds of additional charges for continuing to access social media, being near children and failing to report to police, with several areas marked as hotspots for re-offending pedophiles.

The police working to protect children from re-offending sex offenders are overworked and overstretched according to Shadow Treasurer David Janetzki, as new data reveals where the shocking recidivist pedophile hotspots are in Queensland.

Child sex offenders and pedophiles across the Sunshine State on the Child Protection Offender Registry (CPOR) are amassing hundreds of additional charges for continuing to access social media, having unauthorised access to children and failing to report to police when required.

It’s a growing workload that has seen Queensland Police Service almost double their child protection investigators from 22 in 2020 to 43 in 2024.

New data released in Queensland Parliament reveals the Darling Downs with the highest rate of sex offenders failing to adhere to their reporting coniditions - 68 of them amassed 226 charges for breaching their reporting conditions.

This equates to a rate of 3.32 charges for each offender – the highest in Queensland.

The Sunshine Coast has the second highest rates, with 79 individuals committing 126 offences at a rate of 2.86 per offender.

In absolute terms, North Brisbane is home to the largest population of child sex offenders not adhering to their conditions, with at least 173 known abusers living in those communities.

This is followed by Far North Queensland, with 110 offenders.

The data relates to offenders who have breached their reporting conditions and exclude offenders who are adhering to their reporting conditions.

From 2019 to 2023, convicted child sex offenders committed more than 900 breaches in the Darling Downs.

It is a figure that has Toowoomba South MP Mr Janetzki concerned.

“Police Minister Mark Ryan refused to release the number of Child Protection Offender Registry (CPOR) sex offenders currently living in the Darling Downs, citing publication of that number could “undermine police methodologies and strategies to keep the community safe”.

“In 2019, media reported there were an estimated 140 reportable offenders living in the Darling Downs District,” Mr Janetzki said.

“Currently, there are only two dedicated CPOR police officers based in the Darling Downs District to monitor these child sex offenders,” he said.

“CPOR staff are overworked, overstretched and dealing with offenders, many of whom are repeatedly breaching conditions put in place to keep children in our community safe.”

The Queensland Police Service responded by saying all 12,000 of its sworn officers play a role in monitoring reportable offenders.

“District CPOR investigators support police districts, particularly local Child Protection Investigation Units and Criminal Investigation Branches, to effectively manage all reportable offenders in their areas of control.

Centrally, the Crime and Intelligence Command has 37 CPOR personnel including behavioural specialists, administrative support and further investigative resources available to be deployed to support the regional areas if required.

“While staffing figures will fluctuate from time to time, the QPS has sufficient staff and resources to deliver professional policing services.

“Across the QPS, a borderless model of policing has been implemented, making our workforce more agile and adaptable.

“Resources from across a policing region, district or central command are easily able to be deployed to meet changing service requirements.”

It is an offence to groom a child under the age of 16 and the process of grooming starts when an adult takes particular interest in a child with the intent to form a bond to persuade or encourage the child to engage in sexual activity.

This may happen by directly asking about sexual matters or by exposing them to pornographic material.

Frequently it occurs online, through social media messaging services, like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Snapchat.

The Australian Government’s eSafety Commissioner is tasked with helping parents protect their children from online threats.

It has a range of resources for parents and recommend they talk to their children about online safety and to keep all internet capable devices in common family areas.

Parents are encouraged to co-play and co-view online content with their children and to be up to date with the apps, websites and games they are using.

The Commissioner also recommends parents set websites and devices to the strictest privacy settings, which include hiding profile photos from all but the most trusted users, and disabling location tracking. “Wherever possible, help them make wise decisions for themselves, rather than telling them what to do,” the Commission said.

“Try to provide them with strategies for dealing with negative online experiences that will build their confidence and resilience.”

NAMED: Darling Downs child sex offenders

Jayden Keith Leigh, 26, pleaded guilty in Gladstone Magistrates Court on January 17 to one count of failing to comply with reporting obligations under the Child Protection Act.

John Wayne Nathan Collier 26 was sentenced to a two year and nine month jail term for possessing and sharing the “worst kind” of child exploitation videos and images.

Jake George Brown, 30, pleaded guilty in Gladstone Magistrates Court on February 21 to four counts of failing to comply with reporting obligations under the Child Protection Act.

Peter Allen Ferguson was caught with the devices by police when they carried out a compliance check on the 63-year-old at his Widgee home at the end of last year.

Dwayne Michael Warnock was convicted of grooming a 15-year-old girl who was actually an undercover police officer.

A Toowoomba jury found Robert Andrew Scott Head guilty of two charges of sexual assault, and one charge of the indecent treatment of a child under 16. Both victims were young boys.

Arel Aviles Lara was jailed after pleading guilty to using a device to distribute child abuse material and possessing child abuse material.

Joshua Aaron MacGowan walked free after pleading guilty to possessing child abuse material. The 43-year-old father of two was found with 100 child abuse images on his phone.

David John Kerr was sentenced in February 2023 to a two-year jail term after pleading guilty to using a carriage service to access, solicit, control, and distribute child abuse material.

Police found more than 400 child exploitation material images and videos on the 39-year-old’s mobile phone, and the children were aged between six and 13-years-old.

Clay William Barden failed to comply with his reporting duties, police raided his home in 2022 and found he was still engaging in child abuse material crimes online.

Steven Graham Wigg was sentenced for possessing thousands of sickening child abuse images and was back before court for not complying with his obligations as a registered sex offender.

Ryan John Ward was sentenced to a five year jail term after pleading guilty to using a carriage service to access and possess child exploitation material.

Originally published as Darling Downs pedophiles lead QLD in breaching reporting orders