EXCLUSIVE | Law change will remove protections for ‘embarrassed’ paedophiles
The New South Wales Government will make a significant change to laws that currently prevent identifying paedophiles and rapists so as not to cause “undue stress or embarrassment”.
It stems from the case of a Dubbo paedophile who was spared jail due to his cholesterol and sleeping problems.
The 55-year-old pleaded guilty to 10 counts of child sex abuse over the course of seven years but somehow managed to have his name suppressed by District Court Judge John North.
Currently, a court may suppress an offender’s name “to avoid causing undue distress or embarrassment to a defendant in criminal proceedings involving an offence of a sexual nature”.
Attorney-General Mark Speakman has decided to step in, exclusively revealing to Ray Hadley that the law will be changed.
“The NSW Government is amending the law to ensure the identity of an accused in sexual matters will not be subject to a non-publication order due to undue stress or embarrassment unless there are exceptional circumstances.”
A second reading of the legislation will be held in parliament today.
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