Bradley Johnson arrested after being released from Ravenhall Correctional Centre in prison mistake

A man who walked out of Ravenhall Correctional Centre while waiting trial for sexual assault has been arrested in Melbourne’s north after spending a week on the loose.

Bradley Johnson was unlawfully released from Ravenhall Correction Centre on Monday afternoon and police are appealing for public assistance to help find him

An alleged sex offender wrongly allowed to walk free from prison while waiting to face trial has been arrested and returned to his cell.

Mildura man Bradley Johnson, 43, was mistakenly released from Ravenhall Correctional Centre on April 8 after the jail was not told of his other outstanding charges in court.

He spent more than a week as a free man until he was arrested by police in Coburg on Monday night.

Corrections Victoria branded the release of Johnson as “completely unacceptable” and is investigating how it happened.

“We are reviewing the circumstances around how this occurred as a matter of urgency,” Corrections Victoria said last week.

One prison source said they couldn’t begin to imagine the inmate’s surprise upon hearing he was again a free man.

Johnson was last seen heading towards a bus stop just before 4.30pm on April 8.

Police alerted the public to his unlawful release, via a media release, late evening on April 11.

The sex offender was allowed to walk out of Ravenhall Correctional Centre. Picture: Tony Gough

It is the third case in recent years where an inmate has walked free from the correctional centre in Melbourne’s west as a result of an apparent administrative bungle.

In 2021, a high-risk sex offender was wrongly released from Ravenhall after a botched court order allowed the inmate to walk free.

The inmate spent more than three hours as a free man in Melbourne before authorities recaptured him in Prahan after they realised their major mistake.

In 2018, a huge prison investigation was launched after another inmate was mistakenly granted freedom from Ravenhall who was earlier placed in custody on armed robbery charges.

The man was set free in January of that year before his mother contacted prison staff to ask whether he should have been granted that luxury.

The man handed himself into police the following day which prompted corrections authorities to investigate the error.

According to the department’s annual report, there were two prisoner escapes in the year ending June 2023 from open perimeter corrective facilities.

In the FY22, one person escaped from a secure permiter prison.

The annual reports do not detail “unlawful releases”.

Johnson was wearing grey pants, a dark top and running shoes.

He is described as being 175cm tall, with a closely shaved head and an olive complexion.

Police are appealing to the public to and want to speak to anyone that may have seen him or had contact with him.

They are also encouraging Johnson to come forward himself and contact the police.

Johnson is known to frequent the Mildura area and is a regular on public transport.

Anyone who sights Johnson is asked to not approach him and contact triple-0 immediately.

Anyone with information pertaining to Johnson’s whereabouts is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online.