Megan's Law for five dangerous sex offenders in Rocky - Cr
THERE are five dangerous sex offenders living under supervision in the Rockhampton area.
The Attorney-General's office provided this detail after requests by The Morning Bulletin, but refused to specify if these people had committed any offences relating to children.
The Morning Bulletin sought this information as being in the public interest after the conviction of serial child sex offender Brett Peter Cowan for the murder of 13-year-old Daniel Morcombe.
One of those five supervised offenders is currently in contingency accommodation, which is a house on prison land where offenders can live if they have no suitable accommodation.
As of March 10, there were 4761 child sex offenders in Queensland recorded on the National Child Offender Register.
The Attorney-General's office was unable to advise how many sex offenders were in Rockhampton or in any other Central Queensland centre.
Figures obtained by The Morning Bulletin in 2009 revealed there were 103 child sex offenders in Rockhampton and 2346 in Queensland.
The Morning Bulletin understands the Rockhampton number is still more than 100.
Livingstone councillor Glenda Mather believes the general public has a right to know when there is a sex offender living in their area, particularly if they are considered to be in the dangerous category.
"We're dealing with dangerous people, and deviant people," she said.
"Certainly I think we need to know how many there are in our area. Parents and guardians of children should treat their children with the same security wherever they are, whether there is a sex offender register in their area or not.
"We live in an age where we cannot identify these people. They've got a smile on their face, they're clean-cut, you cannot pick them."
Cr Mather is a supporter of Megan's Law, an American law which provides the public with information on the whereabouts of sex offenders.
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It specifically prohibits using the information to harass or commit a crime against an offender.
While Cr Mather raised concerns about vigilantism, she said the public needs to know if there are pedophiles in the area.
She has written to Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie urging him to never release convicted pedophile Cowan who was sentenced to a non-parole period of 20 years in jail.
Cr Mather supports harsher penalties for sex offenders.
"After one offence we should put them behind bars, never to be released," she said.
"They have to be out of society to make society safe."
THE FACTS
4761 child sex offenders in Queensland as of March, 2014
In 2009 figures showed 103 child sex offenders in Rockhampton and 2346 in Queensland
