No housing for serial sex offender
Another Supreme Court judge has criticised the serious lack of accommodation options for dangerous sex offenders in the community - the second judicial rebuke in a week.
The latest case involves a serial sex predator who remains behind bars indefinitely despite a judge deeming supervised release was otherwise a viable choice.
Exhaustive efforts were made to find suitable accommodation during the latest annual review of Mark Robert Unwin, who has a history of preying on young women in brazen public attacks and was jailed indefinitely in 2011.
Organisations were unwilling to house sexual offenders because of community fears and the presence of female staff and residents.
Priority was given to other needy people, such as the homeless or those with mental illness.
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Hall said action was needed to address the accommodation problem. He said Unwin, 33, was still at serious risk of reoffending but if suitable accommodation was available to handle his complex needs, then supervised release would be a "viable option".
"While still a relatively young man, he has limited prospects for improvement in a prison environment," Justice Hall said in his decision published on Friday.
"He could be in prison for many years if appropriate supervised accommodation is not found."
Unwin, who has intellectual and cognitive issues compounded by the sedating effect of anti-psychotic medication, has been detained indefinitely after finishing his last jail sentence in October 2010 - a 28-month term for the sexual assault of a 22-year-old Korean student in Perth.
Justice John McKechnie this month called for ministerial intervention and said there was too much reliance on the private sector to overcome deficits within government services. He said the State Government's failure to meet its obligations could compromise the protection of the community.
A Department of Corrective Services spokesman said the lack of available and suitable accommodation was a "significant challenge".
