Convicted teen rapist given green light to work with children
A MAN involved in a two-day gang attack and rape of a teenage boy when he was just 15 years old will be allowed to work with children unsupervised.
Law & Order
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A MAN involved in a two-day gang attack and rape of a teenage boy when he was just 15 years old will be allowed to work with children unsupervised.
The man, who can only be known as LLF, initially had his application for a working with children certificate refused because of his juvenile offending.
He had been convicted of five counts of rape on a 14-year-old boy in 1994.
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He also had prior convictions in the Children’s Court for assault, criminal damage, intentionally or recklessly causing injury and reckless conduct endangering serious injury.
Now 39, and wanting to be a youth worker, he took his fight to VCAT who in August last year ordered the Department of Justice provide the certificate.
A concerned department immediately appealed the decision, arguing children’s safety would be at risk because he had a history of violent offending and a short temper.
But the Court of Appeal refused the appeal on Monday, giving the man the green light to work with vulnerable children in residential care.
LLF pleaded guilty to five counts of rape and two counts of inflicting injury by kicking in a children’s court in 1994.
On June 27 and 28 of that year, he and three friends held a boy hostage at a Doncaster home and brutally kicked and punched him, before using household items to rape him.
They also shaved the victim’s head.
LLF argued to the tribunal he did not participate in the physical rapes, but he did help to collect items, including a razor blade, used in the offending, and did not stop it from happening. He admitted he kicked and punched the boy on several occasions.
In successfully fighting for his chance to work with kids, LLF pointed out he had not reoffended since 1994.
Four character references and a report from a clinical and forensic psychiatrist, he said, showed he had been rehabilitated, had built a normal life in the community and was at very low risk of reoffending.
LLF also said he was remorseful and took his prior conduct very seriously.
He said he was committed to using his own negative life experiences to improve the lives of young people.
The department said LLF’s adulthood had not been clear of violent behaviour.
In 2006, while not charged, they said he had a restraining order taken out against him after he grabbed his partner around the neck.
In another argument with a colleague, he grabbed the man around the neck and tried to choke him.
The department said these incidents showed he had a “predilection for reacting violently when provoked by minor upsets”.