Court orders notorious Queensland sex offender should be released

A court has ordered a violent pedophile, who was once a suspect in the disappearance of Daniel Morcombe, should be released from jail.

A notorious Queensland pedophile who was once identified by police as a suspect in the murder of Daniel Morcombe should be released from prison, a court has ruled.

Douglas Brian Jackway has been behind bars for more than two decades for heinous sexual offences, including the violent abduction and rape of a Gladstone boy in 1995.

In a 35-page judgment, Justice Sue Brown ordered Jackway, 44, be released from custody and placed on a strict supervision order for 15 years.

Notorious pedophile Brian Douglas Brian Jackway will be released from custody on a strict supervision order.

Queensland’s Attorney-General opposed the release, saying even a moderate risk was still “too high” to protect the community from further offending.

Jackway will be released into a precinct for sex offenders at Wacol, southwest of Brisbane, subject to a curfew and a no-contact order with children under 16.

He will also need to wear a GPS tracker.

Jackway’s violent criminal history goes all the way back to 1991 when he raped a girl when he was just 14.

In 1995, a highly intoxicated Jackway approached three boys riding their bikes in Gladstone, punching one and forcing another into his car.

He took the boy to mangroves where he stripped, assaulted and raped him.

Jackway was sentenced to eight years’ jail and not released until 2003.

Jackway’s violent criminal history includes the rape of a girl in 1991 and the abduction and rape of a boy in Gladstone four years later.

The same month he was released, Jackway became a suspect in the disappearance of Sunshine Coast schoolboy Daniel Morcombe, as he was in the area at the time. Jackway was subsequently cleared of involvement in the Morcombe disappearance.

Police later shifted their attention to Brett Peter Cowan, who was jailed for life for Daniel’s murder in 2014.

Jackway was returned to prison in 2004 for stealing a motor vehicle.

He was also jailed for seven years for the historic 1991 rape.

Justice Brown said Jackway had undertaken rehabilitation programs and treatments during his time in custody.

Under the conditions of the order, Jackway (pictured in a court sketch) will need to wear a GPS tracker, adhere to a curfew and not have any contact with children under 16 while living at a precinct for sexual offenders southwest of Brisbane.

She ruled he could be managed by a supervision order, as psychiatrists considered his risk of reoffending to “moderate and below moderate”.

“The weight of opinion supports the fact that he is more likely to engage in general offending than offending as contemplated by the Act,” Justice Brown said.

“The conditions provided under the supervision order are extensive and include requirements that address the matters identified by the psychiatrists … in order to control the respondent’s behaviour and contain his risks.”

Justice Brown noted Queensland Corrective Services could allow Jackway greater freedoms and relax his conditions as time progresses.

Since 2012, Jackway has been subject to a continuing detention order, which has been reviewed seven times.

Daniel Morcombe’s father, Bruce, told The Courier Mail he was in disbelief that Jackway was being released.

“He is definitely the worst of the worst,” Mr Morcombe said.

“He is not a groomer of young people – he’s not a pedophile that grooms kids – he is one of the most violent pedophiles in Australia.”