Southern Downs offenders and their parole dates revealed

These Southern Downs convicted criminals have been released this year or are due to be released in the near future on parole after serving part of their sentence. WARNING: DISTURBING.

These offenders will be back on the streets of the Southern Downs in due time, with some already released after a short stint in the corrections system.

These are the notorious Southern Downs criminals who are out of jail, or expected to be released soon.

PAROLE DENIED

Peter John Van de Wetering

The first publicly released image of convicted sex offender Peter John van de Wetering. (Photo: ABC News)

A notorious rapist who drugged and raped a 19-year-old German backpacker in a shearers‘ quarters near Stanthorpe will likely remain behind bars after a judge decided he was too much of a risk to the community.

Peter John van de Wetering, now 55, was sentenced to nine years in jail for a horrific sex crime on a woman in 2013, which he had planned for months.

He advertised a job for a nanny to lure the woman to Cottonvale, where he met her as she hopped off a bus.

Van de Wetering told psychiatrists after his sentencing “the attack was not sexually motivated, and he did it to deter backpackers and stop them from taking jobs from Australians”.

“This offending involves an entirely ruthless pursuit of a young and innocent woman for your sexual gratification,” Judge Terry Gardiner said during sentencing in 2016.

“You subjected her to a terrifying and degrading ordeal in an isolated location and you have caused her very significant ongoing psychological damage.”

Van de Wetering was sentenced to nine years in jail and declared a serious violent offender.

He was expected to be released from jail on October 6, however in September 2023, News Corp reported that Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath fought to keep him in prison or at least under strict supervision, arguing he was an “unacceptable risk”.

The Parole Board refused his application for parole due to his lack of accommodation, treatment needs and limited insights into his offending.

He is expected to remain behind bars until at least 2025.

FULL STORY

UPCOMING PAROLE

Mitchell Brent Gill

The tragic death of a woman on holiday rocked the small families involved, including the family Mitchell Gill.

Gill, then 40, pleaded guilty to dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death, as well as driving over the middle alcohol limit after causing the tragic death of 46-year-old Nicole Therese Janson on May 14, 2021.

In 2021, Gill and four other families were enjoying a holiday at Sommerville Valley Tourist Park, near Stanthorpe.

Around 11pm, after a day at the winery, Gill made the decision to drive three members of the party to another cabin, a short distance up the road.

“(Gill) accelerated heavily and was told not to be silly by Mr Janson, to which there was no response, before the car began travelling on a straight stretch of road, at an estimated 80 km/h, which was too fast for the road and environmental conditions,” Crown prosecutor Jennifer O’Brien told the court.

A man in the front passenger spoke to Gill, which resulted in Gill taking his eyes off the road, before the vehicle veered to the left and as Gill attempted to overcorrect he eventually lost control of the vehicle.

The vehicle swerved over the other side of the road and crashed into a tree, impacting the back right of the vehicle.

By 11.45pm responders were on the scene of the crash, and found Ms Janson breathing slowly however she was unresponsive and after midnight she died as a result of head injuries.

It was hypothesised by forensics crash investigators that the vehicle could have been travelling up to 100 km/h five seconds before the crash.

Forensic analysis of the blood alcohol content revealed at the time Gill was driving the vehicle, his BAC reading would be in the range of 0.140 to 0.208 BAC.

“The consequences were catastrophic and resulted in the death of a mother,” Ms O’Brien said.

Judge Nathan Jarro slammed the actions of Gill during sentencing, calling it a “grossly foolish decision”.

“This tragedy onto the family is immense and it’s a burden the family will have for life,” Judge Jarro said.

Gill was sentenced to five years imprisonment to be suspended after serving 17 months and disqualified from driving for seven months.

He is expected to be released in July 2025.

FULL STORY

Stanthorpe child rapist

A Southern Downs man jailed for seven years after found guilty of “grotesque” child abuse, will be released in less than two years.

The Stanthorpe man - who cannot be named for legal reasons - was found guilty of eight charges relating to one boy; five counts of rape, and one charge each of maintaining sexual relations with a child, assault with intent to rape and threatening violence, in Warwick District Court in August.

Crown prosecutor Tegan Little noted the victim was only five years old when offending first began by the 39-year-old, and that the man was in a “position of authority,” and that there was a “significant breach of trust” with the offending.

What to do if you think a child is being abused

Following one instance of the man’s sexual offending against the boy, he pulled a pistol and threatened to shoot the child if he dared tell anyone about the man’s actions, which the Crown noted was an “aggravating” circumstance needed for consideration.

“The offending occurred in the family home, this is a place where he should have felt safe. There is a lack of remorse here,” Ms Little said.

“Your use of violence is deplorable. You threatened to kill a child if he exposed your offending,” Judge Gardiner told the man.

“You emotionally manipulated a child to suit your own grotesque ends. This is serious.”

Judge Gardiner said the child would be traumatised for the rest of his life, and sentenced the man to a head sentence of seven years’ imprisonment, with 16 months in custody recognised as time served.

The man is expected to be released in October 2025.

FULL STORY

Nathan Yeo

Disturbing abuser Nathan Yeo is expected to be released in November

A man who pummelled a woman in the face so severely it snapped off her tooth leaving the root exposed, went on to hold a knife to her throat and yell at her while she writhed in pain.

Nathan Thomas Yeo brutalised the woman between December 28, 2021 and January 6, 2022, inflicting a series of sickening assaults on the woman.

Yeo pleaded guilty to two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm, four of assault and one each of choking, threaten with intent to compel, and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The Warwick District Court in March of this year was told Yeo, who was recently sentenced for smuggling drugs into jail, called the woman a dog and referred to her bedroom as her “kennel”.

Judge Amanda McDonnell recounted the harrowing attacks, which saw the woman seeking treatment at hospital twice in just days for significant mouth injuries.

During the same day, he shoved the woman into a bench before unleashing a horrific assault, punching her in the face and smashing in her two front teeth, causing “immense pain”.

While on remand, Yeo contacted the woman and threatened her with further violence if she didn’t tell police she’d lied about the attacks out of jealousy.

The court was told the 32-year-old was sentenced to three years’ jail for smuggling drugs into jail in 2022.

He also has an “extensive” criminal history across NSW and Queensland, including domestic violence and drug offences.

Yeo will be eligible for parole on November 10, 2023

FULL STORY

Melinda Orchard

Melinda Maree Orchard was sentenced role in 'disgraceful act' against a young woman earlier this year.

Melinda Maree Orchard pleaded guilty in Warwick District Court on August 7 to eight charges related to a horrific night of terror that was inflicted on a young woman.

The charges included one count each of kidnapping, extortion, bestiality, stealing and possessing used utensils.

Further, the 51-year-old pleaded guilty to three counts of assault occasioning bodily harm while armed and in company.

The court was told that between February 25 and 26, 2022, Orchard, acting as an accomplice to her co-offender Duane Edward Nixon, participated in kidnapping and assaulting a young woman, holding her captive for between eight and nine hours.

The court was told that on the night of February 25, Nixon went to the home of a Warwick woman, and at knifepoint threatened her to get into his car.

He was later joined by Orchard, who drove to an address where the pair began to commit “depraved” physical abuse on the victim, including striking her legs with a metal object to prevent escape as well as “degrading and humiliating” acts.

Melinda Maree Orchard being taken into custody on Monday after pleading guilty to eight charges

Sickeningly, Orchard was instrumental in forcing the woman to engage in sex acts with a dog, which was filmed by the two offenders.

Judge Terry Gardiner described the offending as “terrifying” and “inhumane”.

Quoting the victim impact statement, Judge Gardiner said “there was no question the victim suffered and continues to suffer significant mental and physical trauma as a result of your conduct”.

Orchard was sentenced to six years in jail, with eligibility of parole after two, with Judge Gardiner declaring her 527 days in custody as time served.

Melinda Orchard is expected to be released in February, 2024.

FULL STORY

Duane Edward Nixon

When vile rapist Duane Nixon of Gatton’s crimes came to light, Warwick and Queensland were disturbed beyond belief.

The man with a 20-year criminal history relatied to violent offending pleaded guilty in Warwick District Court to a string of charges relating to a horrific ordeal that took place over the course of nine hours on February 25 and 26, 2022.

Nixon and co-offender Melinda Orchard over nine hours subjected the woman horrifying physical abuse, including striking her legs with a metal object to prevent escape as well as “degrading and humiliating” acts.

Nixon also raped the woman.

The 51-year-old barely spoke during sentencing besides pleading guilty to one charge of kidnapping, sexual assault, stealing, extortion, bestiality as well as two charges of torture, and three charges of assault occasioning bodily harm while armed in company and rape.

In June of this year, Judge Dennis Lynch KC said Nixon was a “danger to the community” and the woman had suffered “unspeakable acts of cruelty” at his hands.

“Your sentence needs to denounce your conduct and record your appalling lack of humanity involved in your behaviour and primarily protect the community by preventing you from being in a position to subject anyone else to that for a significant time,” Judge Lynch said.

Nixon was sentenced by Judge Lynch to 10 years’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of eight years.

With Nixon’s history of disturbing violent crime towards women, it is understood he is unlikely to be released until 2033.

FULL STORY

Already eligible for parole in 2023

Stanthorpe horror DV offender

A magistrate warned a shocking Stanthorpe domestic violence offender he could have been looking at a murder charge after he confronted his ex-partner and her new man with a knife at a busy Stanthorpe shopping complex.

The Southern Downs local businessman – who cannot be named for legal reasons - was sentenced Warwick Magistrates Court on July 5 after pleading guilty to two charges of contravening a domestic violence order and wilful damage, common assault and possessing a knife in a public place.

The court was told that on May 28, 2023, the man was found by his ex-partner sitting in her car with a “large” hunting knife hidden in his pants.

He got into a fight with the woman’s new partner, before the 43-year-old then slashed at the tyres of the vehicle, with the prosecutor noting the act could have “easily escalated” into a violent crime

Prosecutor Sergeant Andrew Grafton noted the man had four prior domestic violence incidents and obviously hadn’t learnt from his previous sentences - even scarier, the man had been on probation when the event occurred.

Acting magistrate Andrew Cridland said the offending was a “serious escalation” of the previous four offences and the seriousness of the offending was “alarming”.

“These are serious offences, it’s extremely concerning, especially when there is a degree of violence involved,” Mr Cridland said.

The man was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment, with a parole release ordered after three months, meaning he would be released on parole in September of this year.

FULL STORY

George Joseph McVeigh

George McVeigh was found guilty of four sexual offences after a lengthy trial (Photo: File)

One of the biggest stories from Warwick courts in 2022 was the shock trial of prominent Queensland stock agent, George Joseph McVeigh, who was charged with rape.

Convicted sexual offender George McVeigh stood trial in November last year, where he was found not guilty of rape, but guilty of one count of attempted rape, and three counts of sexual assault.

The charges came following an incident outside a woman’s home on January 31, 2021 involving the then 58-year-old.

In his sentencing, Judge Craig Chowdhury told McVeigh a “woman is entitled to feel safe wherever she is, but particularly at her own home, at her own property”.

“The jury have found you had the intention to have sexual intercourse without the woman’s consent, which is the aggravating feature,” he told the one-time rugby league identity and stock agent.

McVeigh was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment in November 2022, with the jail term was ordered to be suspended after eight months served.

FULL STORY

Originally published as Southern Downs offenders and their parole dates revealed