Vile sex offender to be allowed back into Victorian community
One of Australia’s most feared paedophiles is set to be secretly allowed back into the Victorian community without supervision. But for legal reasons we can’t say who he is.
Law & Order
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One of Australia’s most feared child-sex offenders is set to be secretly released back into the community.
The serial rapist, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has won a long fight for increased independence and a relaxation of restrictions on his movements.
Those restrictions have included being supervised for any outing outside the secure Victorian facility where he has been housed for years.
But now the man, who is in his 70s, will be allowed into the community multiple times a week without supervision.
Government lawyers this week opposed the move, saying the man was still a threat to the community.
By April the sex offender hopes to be living free.
His lawyer has told the County Court that he ultimately hopes to move to a flat in country Victoria.
The paedophile will enjoy the protection of a court-imposed order banning the publication of his identity or his whereabouts.
On Wednesday a County Court judge signed orders allowing, from next week, the man to undertake unsupervised outings for the first time in more than a decade.
He can leave for up to two hours to visit shopping centres or supermarkets, and will be granted longer leave to visit approved people.
It is understood the man hopes to visit close friends in Brighton in Melbourne’s bayside as soon as he can.
He will be allowed up to eight unsupervised outings this month and next, and will then be allowed three outings a week from February.
The court orders also require the authorities to outline the progress in obtaining the man suitable accommodation in the community.
If nothing is found before April, authorities must return to court to explain why.
The man’s lawyer argued there had been significant progress in his client’s risk outlook, and that unsupervised outings were an appropriate step towards the aim of independent living. The lawyer said the man’s plans had the support of a government-appointed medical expert.
Because of his heinous offending against children, the man had been subject to a strict supervision regime with a strict residential condition.
In recent years he has been moved to a less secure facility for offenders who will eventually return to the community.
His supervision order is set to expire in August next year, unless authorities apply to have it extended.
A government lawyer said the man’s risk of reoffending had been assessed as between low and moderate-low.
“He will always have a paedophilic disorder,” he said.
The Herald Sun knows the identity of the paedophile but extensive secrecy laws and court orders allow reporting of only limited information.
This newspaper is unable to report any evidence from this week’s proceedings, and all documents before the court are suppressed.
A County Court order also prevents publishing details of the man’s crimes, and expert opinions on the risk of him committing more crimes.
Extended Supervision Orders, like the one shielding the man, protect the identity of more than 100 offenders.
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More than 100 of Victoria’s most dangerous criminals are currently under post-sentence supervision orders.
The orders allow for the continued supervision of sexual and violent offenders after serving any prison sentence or parole period and are made if a court is satisfied that an offender is likely to commit further offences if released into the community unsupervised.
According to data compiled by the Post Sentence Authority, the body responsible for monitoring serious offenders on post-sentence orders, there were 134 criminals subject to either a supervision order or detention order as of June 30.
Of those, 128 were serious sex offenders, five were serious violent offenders and one was both a serious sex and serious violent offender.
The orders are designed to prepare offenders for life after prison, and ensure they are closely monitored and do not pose a risk to the public.
It is understood about half of all serious offenders are free to roam, while 66 are required to reside at residential facilities.
The most recent Post Sentence Authority annual report found 1856 serious offenders serving a custodial sentence in Victoria were eligible to be placed on an order.
To be eligible, offenders must have been sentenced to a term of imprisonment for a serious sex offence or a serious violent crime in Victoria.
Monitoring and supervision requirements can include the wearing of an electronic ankle tag.
Bans on contact with children, curfews, residential and employment restrictions, random checks, reporting requirements and compulsory treatment or rehabilitation programs are among other conditions that can be imposed. Breaches can be punished with jail time.
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Before the introduction of supervision order legislation in 2012, the Adult Parole Board lost control over paroled prisoners once their maximum sentence or “end date’’ was reached.
However the legislation, amended last year, has been criticised for significantly restricting the reporting of certain information before the courts in such cases, and the whereabouts of offenders.
Many offenders subject to supervision orders have successfully applied to have their identities kept secret.
In his review of Victoria’s Open Courts Act, former Supreme Court of Appeal justice Frank Vincent last year recommended legislation be amended to restrict the orders concealing the identity or whereabouts of persons subject to supervision orders.
The government has agreed to that recommendation in principle.