Qld pedophile Graeme Hancock caught ‘staring’ at boys at NRL game

One of state’s worst pedophiles repeatedly and “purposely” stared at five-year-old boys urinating in the toilets during a NRL game, after “deliberately’ fooling his NDIS carer, a court has heard.

A court heard Graeme Hancock was staring at children in the stadium toilets.

One of state’s worst pedophiles repeatedly and “purposely” stared at several five year old boys urinating in the stadium toilets during an NRL game, after “deliberately’ fooling his NDIS carer that he was buying a drink, a court has heard.

Details of serial sex pest Graeme Hancock’s perverted interest in pre-pubescent boys and his lie to authorities when interrogated about the incident, were revealed in an appeal decision handed down in the District Court in Brisbane on Monday.

Hancock, 39, a triple child rapist, appealed a Southport Magistrates Court decision on June 10 where he was sentenced to two years jail - suspended after he serves three months in jail, with an operation period of three years - after he pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching his supervision order under the dangerous sex offenders legislation.

The first charge was failing to comply with a direction of a corrective services officer and the second was lying to them about his whereabouts.

Hancock submitted the three year operational period of the sentence was “manifestly excessive”, but the Commissioner of Police opposed the appeal.

Summarising the case against Hancock, Judge Philip McCarthy KC, said that Hancock was given permission by Corrective Services to go in person to watch the game between the Gold Coast Titans and the Dolphins at CBUS Super stadium on the Gold Coast on March 30 with his NDIS carer.

Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast. Picture: Tim Marsden

Before half time despite wearing a GPS ankle tracker, Hancock told his carer he was going to buy a drink and left his carer in the stands while he went to the public urinal where he “sidled up to children” using the toilet “to view their genitals”.

“Others noticed his behaviour and spoke to a security officer at the venue. The security officer then saw (Hancock) repeatedly, queue, permit other adults in front of him, and only progress when a child approached the urinal.

“(He) was seen to view the children’s genitals. The children ranged in ages from five to eight years. The security officer required (Hancock) to exit and contacted police officers within the venue,” Judge McCarthy said in his decision.

Hancock “lied” and told police he went to the toilet to “charge his ankle bracelet” to “avoid public embarrassment”.

His carer - who had been sitting in the stands watching the spectacle, arrived and Hancock was escorted from the stadium.

He initially lied to corrective services about what he was doing in the toilets, but later admitted it.

Back in June, in the Magistrates Court in Southport, the police prosecutor submitted that Hancocks breach of the supervision order was done in a “calculated way”, so he should be jailed for two years.

But in his 12-page ruling, Judge McCarthy determined that the Southport Magistrates Court sentences imposed were “rendered excessive by the length of the operational period” and cut it from three years to two.

A court heard Graeme Hancock was staring at children in the stadium toilets.

Judge McCarthy described his decision as “a difficult matter” as Hancock has complied with his supervision order for the past 11 years.

“Whilst significant weight was to be given to the appellant’s criminal past and the serious nature of the offending, the appellant had engaged in positive steps to ensure that his conduct was not repeated,” he wrote.

Hancock lived independently for several years, “engaged in pro-social activities, such a gym, and regularised outings with his parents until he had to move in 2023 after a “family with a small child moved near his home”.

He moved to the state’s sex offender precinct in Wacol, next to the prison.

“(Hancock) was a man of limited intellectual capacity and contextually influenced by others to disobey direction,” Judge McCarthy wrote.

Hancock suffers from ADHD, Asperger’s syndrome and is described as having an intellectual impairment and receives NDIS scheme benefits.

Hancock is subject to a supervision order under the sexual offenders legislation which runs until November next year.

Hancock has previous convictions for using a mobile phone to photograph a naked four-year-old girl at South Bank Parklands in 2009, telling police he could not control himself and if he saw a young girl wearing a skirt he would have to try to look up it.

He was sentenced to three months prison in 2010.

In 2004, Hancock was aged 19, was sentenced to five years’ jail after being convicted of three counts of rape and 23 other offences against a five-year-old girl, a seven-year-old girl and a nine-year-old-girl.

In October 2012 he breached a supervision order by downloading child pornography onto a USB drive at an internet cafe and was subsequently found to have child exploitation images and videos on a laptop in his Wacol home.

The cafe crime happened while he was wearing a GPS tracker.

In 2013 he pleaded guilty to a range of offences - including possessing child abuse materials - and received a suspended sentence, but in early 2014 a Supreme Court judge ordered him to complete specified sex offender treatment programs before he could be released.

Originally published as Qld pedophile Graeme Hancock caught ‘staring’ at boys at NRL game