Tag: Australia

Australia: Aged sex offender freed to ‘unsafe’ living

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Source: portpirierecorder.com.au 11/16/22 A judge has criticised corrective services for leaving an elderly sex offender to choose between indefinite detention or housing without health support. The Supreme Court of Queensland on Wednesday heard an application by the Attorney-General to have Desmond Ronald Grant, 78, released on a supervision order. Grant has completed a five-year prison sentence for sex offences and is now physically frail and has several health conditions, including diabetes, and needs a walker to enable his limited mobility. Justice Peter Applegarth said in his judgment it was “entirely…

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Australia: Up to 3 years in prison for not reporting a “belief of sexual offending against a child”

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Source: lexology.com 7/7/21 In brief – important development in Queensland’s child protection laws will take effect in term three. Recently, the Queensland Government, through the Criminal Code (Child Sexual Offences Reform) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2020 (Qld) (Amendment Act), has made several key amendments to the Queensland Criminal Code to provide greater protection to children from sexual abuse. In particular, the Amendment Act will, from 5 July 2021: make it an offence for any adult not to report a belief of sexual offending against a child by another adult…

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Australia: South Australia Wants To Set Up A Public Domestic Violence Register

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[ladbible.com – 5/5/21] South Australia has outlined a new proposal to tackle domestic violence in the state. The state government has suggested a public register be established in a similar fashion to a public sex offender registry, according to the ABC. It would allow anyone, particularly potential partners, to look up a person’s name to see if they have any history with domestic abuse. The potential updates to the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme would also see South Australian Police notify a person of their partner’s history if they believe they’re…

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Australia: Judges push for more powers to control who is placed on sex offenders register

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[theage.com.au – 4/13/21] A group of County Court judges is urging the state’s law reform body to give judges more discretion over who is placed on the sex offenders register. In a submission to the Victorian Law Reform Commission, the County Court of Victoria said judges should have more powers to decide whether a convicted sex offender should be placed on the register and to expunge the registration of criminals who have previously been registered. The only current exemption is for offenders under 19, who can apply to be kept…

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Australia: Alleged sex offenders to lose anonymity under changes to South Australian law

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[msn.com – 5/7/20] South Australian legal reforms that strip alleged sex offenders of their right to anonymity have been hailed as an important safety measure by the victim of a notorious paedophile. But senior legal figures have warned the change could lead to vigilante justice and destroy the reputations of those who are charged but later acquitted. The changes, which have come into effect today, mean anyone charged with a sex offence can be named from their first court appearance. One of two brothers preyed on by convicted paedophile Vivian…

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Australia: Police to review policies as footage emerges of bikie attacking child sex offender in watch house

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[abc.net.au – 11/4/19] SA Police is reviewing its security practices as CCTV footage of a bikie attacking a child sex offender at the Adelaide City Watch House is posted online. Rebels bikie member Bradley Daniele posted the footage to social media of him allegedly attacking child sex offender _______. Police this morning confirmed a 26-year-old man from Mawson Lakes had been reported for the assault which took place at the Adelaide City Watch House in April. In the footage, a man can be seen showering in a cubicle before he…

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Australia: WA’s sex offender laws ‘as tough as they can be’, says Premier Mark McGowan

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[http://brandsauthority.com – 10/7/19] Premier Mark McGowan says WA laws are as tough as they can be in dealing with dangerous sex offenders following the release of a notorious paedophile.________, a repeat sex offender, walked free on Monday after convincing a judge he was no longer a threat to children.His release is subject to a record 61 conditions – including that he undergo chemical castration. The Premier said that as a parent he was unhappy whenever a sex offender was released from jail but said people could not be kept in…

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AUS: Child Sex Offender Register Could Become Reality After Coalition’s Shock Win

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Following Coalition’s shock election victory, a public sex offender register posited by the political alliance in Australia could soon become reality. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton suggested in a January news release that information about the crimes of pedophiles be added to a national child sex offender registry—including the perpetrators’ names, aliases, and photos. “It would have a strong deterrent effect on offenders and ensure that parents are not in the dark about whether a registered sex offender has access to their children,” Dutton said at the time. Full Article

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Australia: A public register of child sex offenders will do more harm than good

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[smh.com.au – 4/4/19]   If politicians are looking for a sure fire vote winner then anything that punishes people convicted of sex offences does the trick. So there is likely to be little resistance to Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton’s budget announcement of $7.8 million to establish a National Public Register of Child Sex Offenders. Dutton is proposing that this register would allow all Australians to see names, aliases and photographs of sex offenders, as well as their date of birth, physical description and the “general location and nature” of…

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Australia: Federal Budget dedicates $7.8 million for child sex offender list

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[news.com.au – 4/3/19]   Australians will soon have access to a wealth of information about convicted paedophiles across the country after the Federal Budget allocated $7.8 million for a “name and shame” list. The Budget 2019-2020 provides $7.8 million to establish a National Public Register of Child Sex Offenders, an initiative the government hopes will provide a “nationally consistent approach to the public release of information about child sex offenders”. The register will allow Australians to see names, aliases and photographs of thousands of paedophiles, as well as their date…

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Australian girl, 12, ‘had no idea about pregnancy’ until childbirth at home

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[tert.am – 1/26/19] A 12-year-old girl who gave birth at a home in Western Australia could be charged over the pregnancy – along with the baby’s father. Youth Legal Service WA solicitor Sally Dechow said the charges could be brought against the pair as the conception was considered illegal under state law, The West reported. … WA Police believe the baby’s father is a child of similar age to the mother and was 11 at the the time of the pregnancy. Ms Dechow pointed out even though the pair are…

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Kat’s Blog: Blimey, Who Does Australia’s Fact Checking?

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Peter Dutton, Minister for Home Affairs in Australia wants to be the white knight riding in to save his constituents from “sex offenders” by proposing a National Public Registry. “Thwarting the exploitation of children is my key priority as Minister for Home Affairs” says Dutton. Fact #1:  That’s all well and good, except Australia already has state-based registries with various levels of public accessibility in Victoria, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.  Even with those state-based registries, there has been a 77% rise in child sex abuse and exploitation of…

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AUS: Peter Dutton proposes public register of child sex offenders

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Child sex offenders could have their names and photos uploaded to a public register in what is being described as the “toughest crackdown on paedophiles” in Australian history. Full Article Related Editorials Why Australia should not have a public register of child sex offenders Sex offender registries don’t prevent re-offending (and vigilante justice is real)

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Australia: _____loses bid to halt deportation over criminal convictions

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[smh.com.au – 8/7/18] A middle-aged man who has lived in Australia for 50 years has lost a court bid to halt his deportation after his visa was cancelled on character grounds. ______, 57, migrated to Australia from the United Kingdom when he was seven, and until recently lived at Batemans Bay on the NSW south coast where he worked as a tradesman.   Read more  

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Australia: What impact do public sex offender registries have on community safety?

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[aic.gov.au 5/22/18] Abstract: Sexual offending has a significant impact on victims and can cause considerable angst within the community. The effective management of sex offenders in the community is of paramount importance. This paper reviews the latest empirical evidence from Australia and overseas regarding the effectiveness of public and non-public sex offender registries. Results show that while public sex offender registries may have a small general deterrent effect on first time offenders, they do not reduce recidivism. Further, despite having strong public support, they appear to have little effect on…

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Australia: Tougher punishment needed for child sex crimes

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[theage.com.au 5/16/18] Should child sex offenders be named and shamed, and their locations placed on a public register after they are released from prison? Raping or otherwise sexually assaulting a child is a crime so vile it challenges the capacity of lawmakers and the judicial system to design adequate and effective punishments and deterrents. The task is all the more difficult because such atrocities understandably elicit profound emotional responses, including despair, rage and a searing desire for retribution. … Evidence shows public registers of offenders can add to the suffering…

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