ONE convicted paedophile has been identified and another is set to
be revealed on two sex crime alert web sites.
A man from Noble Park has already been revealed and another from
Dandenong is set to be listed on the sites.
Operators of the sites say the public has the right to know the whereabouts
of convicted paedophiles.
The Noble Park man pleaded guilty to six counts of committing an indecent
act and three charges of sexual penetration of a child aged between 10 and
16 in 1992 when the man was 68 years old.
The Movement Against Kindred Offenders (MAKO) has listed the man’s name
and his Noble Park address, and also details about his offences.
It has listed the details of several other convicted paedophiles living around
Victoria and Australia.
On its website, MAKO states the purpose of the list is to promote public
awareness and to protect people from the dangers posed by committed sex offenders.
It also warns the community against taking vigilante action against those
listed.
Noel McNamara from the Crime Victims Support Association (CVSA) said
a man living in Dandenong would soon be listed on his organisation’s website.
He said the CVSA would list the names regardless of State Government opposition.
“If the government is not going to provide that information, we’ll make it our top priority.
“People have a right to know that they are going to get a rock spider living in their area.
“The idea is to warn people. We don’t want lynch mobs out there trying to get them.
We just want people to be aware that they are in their area.”
Mr McNamara said sex crimes against children were every parent’s worst nightmare.
“Children are easy to get at, and these are cunning people who know how to entrap
the vulnerable.
“It can happen to anyone, whether it’s your child, a relative, or a neighbour.”
City of Greater Dandenong’s Cleeland Ward councillor Paul Donovan also backed
the move to identify the offenders.
“It’s probably a good idea that the community know, provided it doesn’t result in
people seeking vigilante justice.
“Ideally, people who commit a crime and have served time in prison should be
able to carry on with their lives, but if these people who are listed are reoffenders, then
the community has the right to know.”
Acting Senior Sergeant Michael Henry from the police media department urged people
not to take matters into their own hands.
“We don’t want to encourage vigilante behaviour, or any behaviour that will put people
in danger or cause them to break the law,” he said.
AAP (6-10-2005)
Nathan Johnston
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