The state of west Cairns sexual assault a decade on from the Smallbone Report
A decade on from a landmark report revealing west Cairns as sexual assault hotspot locals say not much has changed amid calls for juveniles convicted of sex crimes to be named in the wake of a shocking gang rape.
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A decade on from a landmark report revealing west Cairns as sexual assault hotspot locals say not much has changed amid calls for juveniles convicted of sex crimes to be named in the wake of a shocking gang rape.
Three boys, two aged 15 and one aged 16, will front the Cairns Magistrates Court on Monday after being arrested in connection with the home invasion and alleged gang rape of a Manunda woman.
But if found guilty the Cairns community will never know who they are.
And until recently the disturbing details of their alleged crimes would never have come to light.
It was in the dead of night when three armed invaders allegedly busted into a home located on a Manunda street while a couple slept.
Police allege the three boys threatened the occupants of the house with a knife and demanded the couple give up their personal property.
The woman was then allegedly dragged into a the next room and raped while her partner was held at knifepoint in the bedroom.
While not commenting on the case before the courts, former Child Safety former executive Joanne Borg said it was commonplace for children in the care of the state government living in residential care homes to be victims of child rape and sexual abuse.
“It was absolutely prevalent,” she said.
“Sadly, it was a common for kids in care to experience to sexual violence.”
According to the bombshell Smallbone Report released more than a decade ago the West Cairns sexual offending rate over a 12 year period ending in 2012 was 233 per 1000, by comparison the rest of Cairns was 97 per 100,000.
The sexual assault offending rate in Manunda, Mooroobool and Manoora was 2.4 times higher than the rest of the city that sat in-line with statewide figures.
No recent studies of West Cairns sexual offending can be cited to determine the current offending rate, but anecdotally child sexual abuse remans common.
According to the Childrens Court annual report, half of the 5575 victims of personal offences in 2023-24 were children and of those, 25.2 per cent were 10 to 14 years of age.
This younger group represented the largest victim group for sexual assault at 52.1 per cent.
Large parts of West Cairns were developed in the 1970s and based on Radburn residential design.
In Manoora cul-de-sacs lead into parkland connected by a labyrinth of pedestrian backtracks through Moody Creek Park that are poorly lit and hidden from public view.
The Radburn housing design has been associated with crime problems in other parts of the world and in Australia many suburbs using the design have been improved by urban renewal projects.
It was Moody Creek at the back of a notorious social housing complex that a nine-year-old boy was raped by a 14-year-old repeat sex offender in 2023.
The mother of the boy can’t be named due to Child Protection Act rules prohibiting the identification of child victims of crime.
The woman said despite a government response to the Smallbone Report sexual assault at Manoora remained common and she believed many crimes went unreported.
“I call the government too hard a basket, they are jobless, there are drugs and alcohol problems and I feel the government is happy to let it happen,” she said.
“At this point the government has created the perfect storm by letting the kids get away with everything they do.
“When I started my own investigation, kids were being taught sex games by older females and this is where we are.
“And now you have home invasions, there are going to be kids killed because and you can’t blame them.”
The case against her child rapist was dropped due to lack of evidence and the woman has since escaped the notorious units to begin a new life on the Cassowary Coast.
“This is a forever trauma but thankfully it has not changed the amazing human he is, he is kind and compassionate and he has been able to reinvent himself, and that means a lot to me,” she said.
The mother said the Manoora flats had gained such a reputation taxi operators refuse to drive in and demand cash upfront if passengers want to be dropped there. She said pizza delivery guys often get robbed and chased.
Biripi Aboriginal woman Ms Borg said the units should be knocked down.
“The problem is with ghetto housing, it’s not fit for purpose,” she said.
But the Indigenous child welfare authority didn’t believe all sexual assault victims went on to become perpetrators and previous trauma was no defence to a continuation of the abuse cycle.
“An understanding of that trauma is needed but not making excuses for them,” she said.
“There are many kids that are sexually abused that don’t go on to commit sex crimes.
“We need research into youth recidivist offenders to better understand their behaviours and what makes them become perpetrators because not all kids go on to commit crimes.”
Hinchinbrook MP Nick Dametto has previously advocated for child sex offenders to be publicly identified and in light of last week’s alleged rape in Manunda.
This week the Far North member doubled down on the push.
“Their names should be placed on a publicly accessible sex offender register, just like adult offenders,” he said.
“The most effective way to achieve legislative change in Queensland is to apply political pressure on the government of the day to amend their own bills to include necessary reforms such as this.
“However, if the government refuses to act, Katter’s Australian Party will consider whether introducing a Private Member’s Bill is the best course of action to force the Queensland parliament to debate and vote on crucial issues.
“The safety of our most vulnerable community members, and anyone at risk of predatory behaviour, must come before the rights of offenders.”
Ms Borg agreed and said there should be “no hiding behind the Child Protection Act” when it comes to serious crimes.
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