Registered sex offender Mario Sanchez released on bail despite allegedly not reporting contact with 11 children
A Beaconsfield dad and registered sex offender has begged for his liberty after he allegedly didn’t tell cops he had contact with children.
South East
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A Beaconsfield father and registered sex offender allegedly failed to report to police that he had contact with more than 10 children over a 13.month period, a court has heard.
Mario Sanchez, 50, fronted the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on July 3 after spending a night in custody for allegedly failing to report contact with children over a 13-month-period.
Sanchez was ordered to be registered on the sex offenders list for life in 2004, requiring him to report any contact with children to police within 24 hours.
The court heard Sanchez had allegedly been in contact with at least 11 children between December 2023 and February 2024 without reporting it.
Police allege Sanchez failed to report contact with children on more than 40 occasions with some of the charges relating to children sleeping in the same house as the registered sex offender.
The court heard Sanchez is also facing an allegation of sexual assault against a 13-year-old on a trip to Queensland in late 2023.
On Wednesday, police argued the self-employed concreter was of unacceptable risk to be released into the community on bail, saying they were “concerned he will interfere with witnesses”.
“He has already threatened one victim’s father and has been failing to report his contact for more than a year,” the court heard.
Sanchez’s legal team told the court he financially supported his partner and children, including one with severe cerebral palsy.
“He is willing to abide by any bail condition set by the court,” his lawyer told Magistrate Nunzio La Rosa.
Mr La Rosa said the alleged violation was concerning because of the duration.
“This is not individual activity, it’s the totality of time that makes this breach serious or in the upper range of offending,” he said.
Mr La Rosa bailed Sanchez and adjourned the matter to September 2 for further mention.
