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MORE than 50 convicted WA sex offenders are listed on a controversial website created by a South Australian lobby group. Name, age, State, type of offence, sentence and some basic details about the victim are included in the list of 455 men and women. The website creator Kylie Newman also plans to notify West Australians it a convicted sex offender moves into their neighbourhood. Ms Newman is the president of Movement Against Kindred Offenders, known by the acronym MAKO, which is lobbying governments for harsher penalties for sex offenders and community notification about offenders' whereabouts. Ms Newman said there was a growing following in WA for the site. which was being promoted by word of mouth and anti-child abuse group networks. Links to the site are found on United States' sex criminal websites. People who provide information to Ms Newman include victims, concerned people close to the convicted offender and investigators. Ms Newman claims she is helping to create awareness about the problem of sex abuse. The need for a zero tolerance policy and to prevent further sex crimes. She claims her notification system, which involves distributing flyers, was used selectively in 50 neighbourhoods throughout the Eastern States without encouraging any vigilante-style behaviour. But WA Council of Civil Liberties president Peter Weygers said families of a convicted person were the real victims from the website because they were prevented from getting on with their lives. Mr Weygers said innocent people convicted of offences would be marked forever by the publication of their names, which could be distributed around the world via countless internet links. "What's it really designed to do?" he said "It is designed to punish, sligmatise and mark these people for life ... they (the authors) are doing more harm man good". Under a plan approved two weeks ago by State and Federal police ministers, convicted paedophiles will have to keep police informed of their work, home, vehicle and travel details for up to 15 years under a national child sex offender database scheme. Relevant authorites such as child centres or community welfare groups might be able to enquire if a person was included on the database Offenders would be put on the register when they left prison. A database proposal for WA is expected to go before State Cabinet this month. Acting Police Minister Jim McGinty was not available to comment yesterday. The West Australian (27-7-2003) Kate Gauntlett |
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