District Court’s third paedo bail blunder sees tough intervention despite new laws
A man was granted bail pending his sentence, despite being convicted of four offences. One included having sex with his 11 year old niece.
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A man convicted of raping his 11-year-old niece has become the third convicted paedophile to face a bid by prosecutors to lock him up after the Attorney-General again stepped in.
The man was granted bail in the District Court pending sentence by Judge Chris Hoy despite being convicted on March 29 of four offences including having sex with a girl, now aged 17, who is estranged from her father as he has taken his brother’s side.
It is the latest controversy for the District Court after The Daily Telegraph revealed another two judges granted bail to convicted paedophiles Neil Duncan and Robert Van Gestel pending their sentencing dates despite their offences carrying hefty jail terms.
The third man cannot be named because it would identify his victim but he is known as AP on the court lists and was referred to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions by Attorney-General Mark Speakman.
“Following my request to the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions to review the bail decision, I have received advice from an Acting Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions that a Detention Application will be made in respect of this offender,” Mr Speakman said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Daily Telegraph’s campaign together with pressure from 2GB’s Ray Hadley led to the NSW Government rushing through tough new bail laws under which bail must be refused following conviction of a guilty plea and prior to sentencing where the offender will be jailed unless special or exceptional circumstances can be established.
Justice Robyn Tupman controversially granted Duncan, 67, bail earlier this month after he was convicted by a jury of eight counts of sexually touching girls aged between 10 and 16 in 2018 and 2020.
She said he was “not a risk to other children”.
He went on to breach his bail by attending a kids’ gymkhana at Narrabri, Duncan was again granted bail in Tamworth Magistrates’ Court.
After a DPP application to the Supreme Court, he is due to face a detention hearing on July 11.
Teachers Professional Association Secretary and former Charleville High School principal Tracy Tully then revealed she had reported Duncan 15 years ago for alleged sexual activity with a student. It is not known whether he was prosecuted.
Van Gestel, 78, whose life membership of a northern beaches soccer club has now been cancelled, is due to be sentenced on October 21 for nine charges dating back to the 1970s, including five counts of committing an act of indecency and assaulting a female under the age of 16.
He was released on bail by Judge Megan Latham.
He will face a detention order hearing in the Supreme Court on July 14.
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