A convicted paedophile has been allowed to stay in Australia after he avoided deportation under a new law change by telling officials he’d miss his friends here.
The UK-born 83-year-old, who can’t be identified for legal reasons, was found guilty in 2024 of molesting a nine-year-old girl in the presence of another child and sentenced to 14 months in jail.
‘This conduct was not fleeting and involved a degree of force or coercion by you towards her,’ Judge Felicity Zempilas told him as she sentenced him at Perth District Court.
‘You held or pinned her down.’
He had previously been found not guilty of molesting another young boy in a separate alleged incident.
His permanent visa was initially cancelled after his conviction, but he has now successfully appealed the decision at the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART).
‘Well, I’ve got my visa back, so it’s all good,’ he told the ABC after the hearing.
He told the ART he didn’t remember sexually abusing the girl and said he didn’t want to return to the UK because he’d be away from his family and friends.
Judge Felicity Zempilas jailed the monster for 14 months at Perth District Court in 2024
He insisted he had strong ties to Australia and was no threat to the Australian community, and also had health issues which would make resettling in the UK hard.
ART deputy president Simone Burford admitted his offending was ‘undoubtedly very serious’.
‘The Australian community would expect his visa would remain cancelled,’ she added.
‘[But] weighed against this, he has very strong ties to this country and faces significant impediments if removed, including his advanced age and ill health.’
Under Ministerial Direction 110 – introduced by the Albanese government to counter stateless criminals being held indefinitely – his claims were enough to allow him to remain in the country, Ms Burford said.
The government direction was introduced in 2024 to ensure visa cancellations and reinstatement rules were toughened to prevent more serious criminals from escaping deportation.
But it allows the applicant’s strong ties to Australia to be taken into consideration when making any decision.
Now the families of his young victim and his previous accuser have demanded Immigration Minister Tony Burke overhaul the law and reverse the decision.
The convicted paedophile has been allowed to stay in Australia after he avoided deportation under a new law change by telling officials he’d miss his friends here
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The mother of the young boy the paedophile was cleared of molesting said she was horrified that he was still allowed to stay in the country.
‘[We were] completely let down, completely betrayed,’ she told the ABC.
‘His needs were put before the victim’s, before the community … why are we giving priority to an abuser over Australian child victims of sexual abuse?’
She revealed she had reached out to Mr Burke on multiple occasions asking him to deport him ‘in the public interest’ but was told he was not legally able to do so.
‘The ministers are not required to exercise their power,’ the family were told in a letter from the Department of Home Affairs.
‘What is in the public interest is a matter for the ministers to determine.
‘I appreciate this is not the response you were hoping for … I can assure you that your correspondence has been noted.’
Daily Mail has contacted the Department of Home Affairs for comment.
