'Dangerous' paedophile imprisoned indefinitely
A sexually deviant paedophile with a 20-year history of offending, including the abuse of his twin sons and three stepsons with his co-offender ex-wife, has been detained behind bars indefinitely.
The man, who is named only as W to protect the identity of his victims, finished his last prison term in April this year after being sent to jail more than 13 years ago.
In a decision delivered yesterday, Supreme Court Justice Ralph Simmonds declared W remained a serious danger and ruled the community could only be adequately protected by his ongoing detention.
The decision reveals W was sentenced to a total of 12 years jail in May 2001 after being convicted of 18 offences, including indecent assault, incest and sexual penetration of a child aged under 16, committed against his sons and stepsons between 1988 and 1998.
His then wife, the mother of the five boys, was convicted of most of the same offences after the pair faced jury trials.
In 2009, W was sentenced to another five-year jail term after being convicted of historic sex offences committed in the late 1970s against two young sisters who were the daughters of long-standing friends.
His ex-wife had again been involved in some of the abuse of the girls.
Justice Simmonds said W had consistently denied having committed any of the offences and expert reports assessed him as being at a significant risk of re-offending.
W’s case will be reviewed annually by the Supreme Court, as required under dangerous sex offender laws.
