'Send them to Nauru instead!': Mayor claims Ipswich has become 'dumping ground' for child sex offenders
A Queensland Mayor has suggested convicted child sex offenders be ‘shipped to Nauru’ because ‘they can’t be trusted not to reoffend’.
Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale told Queensland Times he was concerned his area had become a dumping ground for child sex offenders after their release from prison.
Cr Pisasale said he would rather see refugees who are living on Nauru, relocated to his area instead.
"The one thing I know about Australians is they can tolerate a lot of things but they will not tolerate acts of cruelty or sexual offences against children," he said.
"This city will not be a dumping ground for child sex offenders.
"They need to be placed away from mainstream society until they can prove to themselves and others they no longer pose a threat to our children."
Cr Pisasale's comments come after it was revealed earlier this month that a man with a long history of molesting children had been living unsupervised near a dance studio and primary school in Goodna.
Raymond Phillip Downs, 60, was caught living in a caravan on a semi-industrial estate within 50m from the popular dance school which caters to children as young as three.
Cr Pisasale said there had been a long history of some of Australia’s worst sex offenders being ‘dumped’ in Ipswich – these include Dennis Raymond Ferguson, Robert John Fardon and David Kenneth Gilchrist.
Cr Pisasale said child sex offenders were not welcome in Ipswich and suggested Nauru would be a better place to house them after prison.
"The statistics show a large number of child sex offenders reoffend when they are released," he said.
"The boat people come and we stick them on Nauru until they readjust and until we assess them.
"Maybe that is where we should stick these child sex offenders… I am not willing to risk one child in Ipswich for the sake of a child sex offender's so-called rights.
"I feel embarrassed a human is treated like an animal, but you have to remember these people have acted like an animal towards children.
The outspoken Mayor also said he supported the introduction of a child sex offender’s register, which the public could access.
"As a civic leader I have to make sure I protect my community but I also have to make sure the bureaucracy understand the feeling of the community," he said.
"No matter where you put them, the same community reaction will occur.
"But Ipswich seems to be getting more than our fair share of child sex offenders and I want to know why.
"I do not think many would be getting housed in places like Clayfield, Ascot and Hamilton."
Queensland Police told the Queensland Times there were 3118 registered child sex offenders living in Queensland, however, they didn’t reveal how many were living in Ipswich.
