MAKO-Robert Fardon

Robert John Fardon- serial rapist

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Sex offender Fardon to stay in jail
Queensland's Attorney-General has had a win in a fight to keep one of the state's most notorious sex offenders, Robert John Fardon, behind bars.
Fardon, 62, has been convicted of sex offences against children and women and has spent more than 30 years in jail.
Last month, a Brisbane judge ordered his supervised release.
But lawyers for the Attorney-General say Fardon has breached previous orders and will do so again.
They asked Supreme Court Justice Richard Chesterman to suspend the order until there is a decision from an appeal against it.
This morning, Justice Chesterman agreed to the application.
He found the judge who made the release order did not give enough weight to concerns Fardon would breach it.
Justice Chesterman also said there was an incomplete assessment of the risk Fardon poses to the community.
The appeal against the release order will be heard this later month.
A woman raped by Fardon when she was 12 says she has had to live with the memories of the attack every day for the past 33 years.
"I believe that repeat offenders and serial child paedophiles should be indefinitely sentenced behinds bars," she said.
"I believe in the 'throw away the key' on those sort of offenders and they should never be allowed back into the community.
"Not a day goes past that he is not far from my mind and that day he took away my innocence and stole everything about me as a child - he took.
"Therefore I believe he hasn't got the right to live in the community - he should be locked up."

ABC News 3-6-2011
Jason Rawlins and Kim Lyell
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/03/3234695.htm

MAKO/Files Online.. Listing Australian Convicted Paedophiles/ Sex Offenders/ Child Killers.. FREE Public Service..

Child rapist Robert John Fardon's supervised release to be appealed on Monday, May 30

BEAST: An appeal against child rapist Robert John Fardon's supervised release will begin on May 30.

ATTORNEY-General Paul Lucas' desperate bid to keep notorious rapist Robert John Fardon in jail has been extended by another three days.
In the Supreme Court in Brisbane today, Acting Justice Julie Dick published her reasons for ordering Fardon be released into the community under strict supervision order.
Mr Lucas had already indicated he would appeal Justice Dick's order, and had asked the matter be stayed until next Friday so arrangements for the appeal could be made.
However, after Justice Dick made the order, Dan O'Gorman, SC, for Fardon, asked the order by stayed until Monday, May 30, because of problems with availability of counsel for the Court of Appeal.
The matter is now likely to be before the Court of Appeal on Monday week.
The Attorney-General had applied to keep Fardon in jail indefinitely, alleging he had contravened a supervision order by attending a venue which sold alcohol and associating with a mentally impaired person.
Lawyers for Fardon had argued his contraventions were trivial and should not prevent Fardon's return to the community.
In her judgment released today, Justice Dick said she was satisfied the alleged contraventions had been proved.
"On the basis of the circumstances of the breaches and the evidence of psychiatrists, I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the adequate protection of the community can be ensured by Fardon being released from custody subject to a supervision order," Justice Dick said.
She said she had been concerned that Dr Grant has assessed that, arising from the Fardon's attitude to authority, there was a high likelihood of future contraventions of any supervision order.
"However, the Act does not contemplate the arrangements to prevent any risk must be "water tight" otherwise orders would never be made," she added.
Fardon, 62, has been in jail almost all of his life since 1980.
He has a criminal history with convictions for property, dishonesty and firearm offences, but is notorious because of his sexual offending.
When 18, in 1966, Fardon pleaded guilty to attempted carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of 10 years and was placed on a bond.
In 1980, he pleaded guilty to raping and indecently dealing with a 12-year-old girl and wounding her 15-year-old sister. He was sentenced to 13 years' jail.
Fardon was released on parole after serving eight years of that sentence, but within 20 days of being released from he committed offences of rape and sodomy.
On June 30, 1989, he was convicted after a trial and sentenced to 14 years on those charges.
In 2003, Fardon was the first person detained indefinitely past his release date under Queensland's Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003.
In 2006, he was released under a strict supervision order but was breached when charged with rape in 2008 and was returned to jail.
Last year, he was convicted of the rape and sentenced to 10 years' jail.
However, late last year the Court of Appeal over-turned the conviction and acquitted Fardon.
The Attorney-General then applied to have Fardon remain in jail for the breaches.

The Courier-Mail 20-5-2011
Mark Oberhardt
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/child-rapist-robert-john-fardons-supervised-release-to-be-appealed-on-monday-may-30/story-e6freoof-1226059582005

Rapist Wanted Beck For Bride
SERIAL rapist Robert John Fardon wanted to make child killer Valmae Fay Beck his bride after the evil pair fell in love behind prison walls.
Prison records show that in 1998 Fardon asked a pastor if he could buy an engagement ring for Beck through mail order.
Beck, who is serving a life sentence for the 1987 rape and murder of Noosa schoolgirl Sian Kingi (pictured), last night was in a critical condition in Townsville Hospital after heart surgery to install a temporary pacemaker.
The killer, who is only 160cm tall but weighs more than 140kg, was in a medically induced coma and had other complications as a result of diabetes.
Prison sources said the same pastor approached by Fardon had also baptised Beck and other prisoners in a pond at the Townsville Correctional Centre several years ago.
The sources said jail management objected to the baptisms, saying they were in poor taste, but the department's head office over-ruled them.
Two other pastors – a married couple who visited Beck – wanted to adopt her, prison sources said.
Beck and her third husband, Barrie Watts, were both sentenced to life after being convicted of 12-year-old Sian Kingi's brutal murder.
Watts, who is serving his time at Wolston Correctional Centre in Wacol, told detectives he never would have killed Ms Kingi without Beck's help.
Townsville prison sources told The Sunday Mail that Fardon and Beck met at a "butchers' barbecue" at the jail.
The annual event for lifers was put on by the Queensland Indeterminate Prisoner Support Association, of which Beck was president.
"They were in love and in one letter declared their eternal love for each other," a senior prison source said.
Prison sources said their affair went on for several years before Beck transferred to Brisbane Women's Correctional Centre.
It has also emerged that prisoners at the Townsville jail have been provided with extra counselling services in the event that Beck dies.
"The prisoners here are divided over how they feel about her. Those who like her call her Mamma Fay or Nanny Fay. The others will throw cups of urine or food scraps into her cell because of what she did to that poor girl," an officer said.
Security at Beck's cell has been increased.
"In the event that she dies, her cell will become like a crime scene, so it has been sealed off," an officer said.
IF by chance child killer Valmae Beck awakens from her coma in the intensive care unit at Townsville Hospital, one of the first things she will see is a prison officer armed with a gun.
Prison sources told The Sunday Mail that two officers, one of them armed, have been posted at Beck's bedside.
They said the security was more to do with possible reprisals against Beck for her role in the Sian Kingi murder, rather than any perceived threat from the 64-year-old.
Beck's fate, and whether she can survive heart surgery and severe diabetes, has captured the nation's attention.
She has been in Townsville's intensive care unit, which can only be accessed with a security pass, since Tuesday. One of her daughters has been by her bedside and Townsville jail staff have visited.
Prison sources said her impending surgery had been kept under wraps, with even the Queensland Police Service left in the dark.
Police said that if they had been alerted about Beck's condition, there may have been the chance of a last-minute confession.
Police are interested in Beck because she witnessed the murder of Helen Mary Feeney.
Ms Feeney, a 31-year-old Brisbane teaching student and mother, disappeared from Carseldine on Brisbane's northside in October 1987 – the same time Beck and her husband Barrie Watts were on a murderous crime spree.
Watts was acquitted of the murder in 1995. Beck testified against him, saying he had killed Ms Feeney during a bungled car break-in at the Carseldine college.
Beck said Watts later told her he had dumped Ms Feeney's body at the Lowood rubbish tip and watched it burn. No trace of the body was ever found.
Police suspect the body was disposed of elsewhere, and Beck knows the location.
The Sunday Mail revealed last year that Brisbane detectives interviewed Beck and Watts about the location of Ms Feeney's body. Both refused to help.

The Sunday Mail (22-5-2008)
Paula Doneman

GPS units being used to track mentally ill but Bligh Government refuses to use them for sex offenders - (QLD 26-5-2011)

Valmae Beck, Robert Fardon evil penpals

REVILED child killer Valmae Beck and serial child rapist Robert Fardon forged an "uncanny" friendship in a Townsville prison.
They shared visits and found God together before becoming penpals, sources reveal.
Two of Australia's most hated criminals spent long hours together chatting and writing over eight years inside high-security Stuart Prison, it has emerged.
Beck, 64, the accomplice in one of the nation's most horrific cases of child rape, torture and murder – the killing of schoolgirl Sian Kingi – was last night clinging to life in intensive care in Townsville Hospital.
The mother of six, who weighs 150kg, is in a coma and expected to die after suffering complications during a taxpayer-funded heart procedure.
Child rapist and sex fiend Fardon has served almost 30 years in jail for serious sex offences against women and children.
Fardon and Beck, who changed her name to Fay Cramb to avoid repeated bashings, met at an annual barbecue for lifers, known as the "murderers picnic", inside Stuart Prison in 1993.
They quickly became close friends, spending supervised visits together with the prison chaplaincy team and working on a prison support group, known as QISPA (Queensland Indeterminate Prisoner Support Association), up until Beck was moved to Brisbane in August 2002.
"They shared an uncanny bond as being outcasts within the prison system," a prison source said. "They also corresponded.
"At one stage a psychologist was enlisted to peruse the content of the letters they were writing to each other, but exactly what they were hatching never fully emerged."
Dr Wendell Rosevear, a medical professional who has treated both Beck and Fardon, said it was obvious why the two much-loathed inmates were drawn to each other.
"When you are rejected by society, you will seek acceptance wherever you can find it," Dr Rosevear, a GP, who has worked in jails since 1975 and runs Men Affected by Rape and Sexual Abuse said.
"And that is why Valmae got involved in the crime in the beginning. She had low self-esteem and sought to be accepted and wanted by (former husband Barrie) Watts.
"They all admitted to me they had done terrible things.
"But they are human beings and human beings need to connect and have love in their life to stay alive."
Dr Rosevear said he understood the public anger towards the pair.
"(But) We need to foster a sense of community in prisons so they are a place of healing rather than zoos where inmates come out like scared animals who don't know how to interact," he said.
Hospital sources said Beck's condition deteriorated slightly yesterday. She was again visited by her next-of-kin Stephanie Gunton while guarded by two prison officers.

The Courier Mail (9-5-2008)
Peter Michael

Serial Rapist Released After 27 Years In Jail

SERIAL rapist Robert John Fardon has had his first day in the community in almost three decades, after women working in his neighbourhood were issued with electronic alarms to protect themselves.
Fardon, who spent 27 years in prison for violent sex offences, was released in Brisbane on Monday after the Queensland Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by Attorney-General Kerry Shine to have him indefinitely detained.
But the court imposed on the 58-year-old a strict, decade-long supervision order with 32 conditions.
Corrective Services Minister Judy Spence today said Fardon had gone outside his new home and into the community for the day, escorted by members of the Catholic Prison Ministry.
"He's out on day release today," Ms Spence said.
"Essentially he is a free man. He is free to come and go from his house when he wants.
"There are certain conditions about what he can do, for example, keep away from children and other groups of people – but he's not a prisoner in that house."
Ms Spence said Fardon would remain in his house, located in the Wacol prison precinct in Brisbane's outer west, into the "foreseeable future".
"I think it's a good option, because this house is at least a kilometre away from any private residence, it's on a prison estate where people can monitor his movements to a certain extent," Ms Spence said.
"But at the end of the day he is free to go and come from his house as he wishes."
Ms Spence denied reports Fardon had been relocated because photographs of his home were published.
Asked about the photographs, Premier Peter Beattie said he had no sympathy for Fardon.
"The reality is that if you are involved in these sorts of sex offences then I think the media have quite an appropriate right to go out and tell the world about it," Mr Beattie said.
"We didn't want him out. My Government fought tooth and nail. The Court of Appeal has made this decision. It's not our will, our wish, I wish he was still in jail.
"I do not have sympathy for pedophiles and rapists."
It has also been revealed women working for Corrective Services near Fardon's home had been issued with electronic alarms.
Opposition justice spokesman Mark McArdle said the move showed the Government needed to immediately amend its laws.
"It's very clear Corrective Services have a fear for their own female employees," Mr McArdle said.
"They have issued these women with alarm systems.
"What guarantee do we now have that women outside of that system are going to be protected?
"Clearly what the court has identified is this legislation is not going to protect the people of Queensland."
Mr McArdle said Coalition would support recalling Parliament if necessary.
"If a situation becomes critical there's no reason why Parliament can't be recalled if a real danger exists – in fact, there's an obligation on Parliament to deal with the matter," he said.
He said the Government had moved too slowly to introduce electronic monitoring, which are expected to be available for courts to impose by February next year.
Forensic pathologist and criminologist Professor Paul Wilson said the intense scrutiny of Fardon could increase his risk of reoffending.
"I think it's appalling he's being hounded by the media, because if you kick dogs they react viciously and angrily," Prof Wilson said.
"We're more likely to make Fardon reoffend through hounding him and through public scapegoating."
Prof Wilson said he was not defending Fardon's behaviour, but that the community should respect the Court of Appeal's decision.

AAP (7-1-2-2006)
Paul Osborne/ Dave Donaghy/ Christine Flatley

Danger In Our Midst

A GROUP of women working around violent serial rapist Robert John Fardon has been issued personal alarms by the Corrective Services Department.
Fardon, 58, who is a free man, is holed up in a house within the grounds of a southeast Queensland jail.
He can come and go from the property but under the terms of his release after 27 years in jail, will live under restrictions on who he may mix with for the next 10 years.
The supervision order forbids him from having contact with children or those with mental disabilities.
He has been living at the house under the court-ordered supervision of Corrective Services staff since Monday, when the State Government lost a court battle to keep him behind bars.
Prison sources said Corrective Services warned female administrative staff working within the jail that Fardon was staying in the house within the grounds before giving them the alarms.
But a second group of female staff working in a different building less than 200m from Fardon's house has not been given the alarms.
The house, once used for prison guards living on-site, is surrounded by a high fence and has been filled with new furniture for Fardon.
Prison sources say that it is the first time Queensland Corrective Services has taken this approach with any prisoner or former prisoner.
Fardon is undergoing an intense re-integration program to help him adjust to daily life outside of prison.
"He will have to be taught the very basics. It will be baby steps for him," a guard said yesterday.
Fardon was taken out of the Wolston Correctional Centre on Monday.
Just prior to his release, prison guards at Wolston said Fardon shaved off his bushy brown beard and told some staff he felt he "has nowhere to go on the outside".
Fardon has spent almost three decades in Townsville and Brisbane jails for serious sex offences against children and women, and was the first prisoner to be detained indefinitely under the state's controversial Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act, which was introduced in 2003.
In 1978 Fardon raped a 12-year-old girl and assaulted her 15-year-old sister. He was released in 1988 and raped again while on parole.
In 1978, Fardon violently raped a 12-year-old girl and assaulted her 15-year-old sister.
In 1988, less than a month after completing eight years of a 13-year sentence, Fardon raped and sodomised a woman in north Queensland. He was jailed for another 14 years.

Courier Mail (6-12-2006)
Paula Doneman

Serial Rapist To Walk Free Today

SERIAL rapist Robert John Fardon will be released from a Queensland jail today after an attempt to have him indefinitely detained was dismissed in the Court of Appeal.
Fardon, 58, has spent the last 27 years in prison for violent sexual offences, but will be released from Brisbane's Wacol prison under a strict 10-year, 32-point supervision order.
Queensland Attorney General Kerry Shine last month attempted to keep Fardon in jail.
But the Court of Appeal today upheld Justice Ann Lyon's original decision that there "was not an unacceptable risk that he would commit a serious sexual offence if released" under the order.
Under the order Fardon must remain in Queensland, undertake regular counselling sessions and submit to regular drug and alcohol testing.
He is also forbidden from working with children, visiting parks and public spaces without written permission, providing unsupervised child care, or joining any clubs or affiliations where children might be members.
Fardon was first jailed for raping and wounding a 12-year-old girl in 1978 after he lured her to his house to celebrate the birth of his son.
Within months of his release in 1988 he had raped, sodomised and assaulted a woman in Townsville, in far north Queensland, and was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment in June 1989.
His full-term release date was June 30, 2003, but just a few weeks prior to that the state government introduced the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003, aimed at protecting the community by keeping dangerous sexual offenders in jail past their release dates.
Today's decision has angered child protection campaigners, who claim Fardon's release "makes a joke" of the act.
"Like all legislation, we have to rely on the judges to enforce it, to set precedent," anti-pedophile campaigner Hetty Johnston said.
"The decision to release Fardon seriously undermines the legislation and betrays its intention."
However, Susan Bothmann from Wacol Prison's legal service, said Fardon had assured her that he would not re-offend.
"I have Robert's assurance and I can give you Robert's assurance that he does not want to go back to jail again," she said.
"I know he wants to make a new life for himself."
No details are available about where Fardon will reside when he is released, but Ms Bothmann said he would adhere to all conditions in the order.

www.theaustralian.news.com.au (4-12-2006)

State Wants Serial Rapist Tagged

SERIAL rapist Robert John Fardon may be electronically tagged to allow police to monitor him more effectively after his release from a Brisbane prison.
Corrective Services Minister Judy Spence today said the Queensland Government hoped to have new laws allowing electronic monitoring in place by February next year.
She said the Government would consider asking the courts to amend Fardon's release order to include an electronic tag as a condition.
The Queensland Court of Appeal ordered 58-year-old Fardon be released from Brisbane's Wacol Prison after dismissing an appeal by state Attorney-General Kerry Shine to have him indefinitely detained.
Fardon has spent the last 27 years in prison for violent sexual offences, but will be released under a strict 10-year, 32-point supervision order.
Under the order Fardon must undertake regular counselling sessions, and is forbidden from working with children, from visiting parks and public spaces without written permission, or from joining any clubs or affiliations where children might be members.
Fardon was first jailed for raping and wounding a 12-year-old girl in 1978 after he lured her to his house to celebrate the birth of his son.
Within months of his release in 1988, he had raped, sodomised and assaulted a woman in Townsville, in far north Queensland, and was sentenced to 14 years' jail in June 1989.
His full-term release date was June 30, 2003, but just a few weeks prior to that the State Government introduced the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003, aimed at protecting the community by keeping dangerous sexual offenders in jail past their release dates.
Ms Spence said corrective services and police would monitor Fardon's activity, but that they could not guarantee he would be watched 24 hours a day.
She said she would not release details of where Fardon would live but that it would be in an appropriate area for an offender of his nature.
"I can assure you the accommodation he is going to now is a long way from schools and childcare centres, and other residential addresses,'' Ms Spence said.
Fardon's release has angered child protection campaigners, who claim that his release "makes a joke'' of the legal process.
"The decision to release Fardon seriously undermines the legislation and betrays its intention,'' anti-pedophile campaigner Hetty Johnston said today.
However, Susan Bothmann from Wacol Prison's legal service said Fardon had assured her that he would not re-offend.
"I have Robert's assurance and I can give you Robert's assurance that he does not want to go back to jail again,'' she said.
Ms Spence said she was considering making tough new changes to the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003 in the new year, but would not reveal at this stage what these changes would be.
Opposition legal spokesman Mark McArdle said Fardon should never have been released and he called on Mr Shine to urgently review the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003.
"The coalition also expect that Fardon's release conditions will be strictly enforced,'' Mr McArdle said.
"Even the slightest breach of any condition should see him back in jail and the keys thrown away.''

AAP (4-12-2006)
Christine Flatley

Rapist Smoked Out Of Suburbs - And Another Is Set To Walk Free

A NOTORIOUS Queensland sex offender is set to be released from prison within weeks, creating a further headache for the State Government as it struggles to find suitable accommodation for dangerous criminals.
Convicted child rapist Robert John Fardon has already served three years more than his initial sentence.
In a written judgment handed down last month, Justice Ann Lyons said she was satisfied Fardon could be safely released back into the community under a strict supervision order to be in place for 10 years.
But it is understood authorities are having difficulties finding him appropriate accommodation to ensure he is kept away from children.
News of Fardon's imminent release came as the Department of Corrective Services was relocating another criminal following community outrage.
Convicted killer and rapist Paul Vincent Sutherland was released from prison last week under a supervision order -- which did not include restrictions on where he could live -- after the Supreme Court rejected a government appeal to keep him behind bars.
He had moved into a home at Nerang on the Gold Coast, near a park and school, after the department approved it as suitable for short- term accommodation.
However, news of his location yesterday prompted community anger, forcing authorities to relocate him to a secret address.
About 3.30pm yesterday, with his head wrapped in a football scarf, Sutherland emerged from the modest brick residence.
He was whisked away in an unmarked car which was escorted by a police vehicle.
Corrective Services Minister Judy Spence said surveillance on Sutherland would be increased. "Already he is subject to 22 court- ordered conditions, which include surveillance and drug and alcohol testing," she said.
But the Opposition yesterday demanded the Government toughen the laws to ensure "psychopathic killers" were not released.
"You don't just put someone out into the community and expect the police to have a full-time monitoring role for the next 20 years and tell the community that's acceptable," Nationals deputy leader Fiona Simpson said.
Sutherland, 48, has spent 17 years in jail after being convicted of sexually assaulting and killing women in the Bundaberg area in the late 1980s.
Nearby resident and father-of-three Ian Ritchie, 43, said he was happy Sutherland had left the neighbourhood.
"Hopefully it's for good," he said. "My kids come and play in this playground all the time."
Hillary Blundell said she was concerned her daughters, aged 13, 15 and 16, had been put at risk.
"Absolute shock and devastation to think that somebody of this nature could be in such proximity to children," she said.
But grandmother Pat, who also did not want to reveal her surname, said Sutherland had to live somewhere after his release.
"(But) people should be advised that he's in their area so they can stay vigilant," she said.
The latest bungle comes two months after serial child molester Eric Henri Van Dessel sparked outrage when he was discovered living near a Brisbane high school.
The thrice-convicted pedophile later agreed to move.
Residents of the small Queensland town of Roma, six hours' drive west of Brisbane, were also in uproar last year when convicted pedophile Dennis Ferguson moved in.
Ferguson, who served 14 years' jail for the rape of three children, had been run out of Murgon, northwest of Brisbane, a day earlier.

Courier Mail (7-10-2006)
Richard Finnila/ Cameron Atfield/ Phil Bartsch

School Bus 'Only' Transport For Rapist

A SCHOOL bus is the only public transport available in a remote area where a convicted child rapist plans to stay after his release from prison, a Brisbane court has been told.
Robert John Fardon, 57, had been due for release on June 27, 2003, from the Townsville Correctional Centre after serving a full 14-year sentence for the rape, sodomy and assault of a woman in 1988.
Fardon assaulted the woman while he was on parole, just 20 days after his release from prison after serving an eight-year sentence for raping a 12-year-old and wounding her 15-year-old sister.
This is Fardon's fourth court bid to prove he no longer poses a risk under the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act.
A former prison chaplain who has offered Fardon a place to stay on his release, told the Queensland Supreme Court today that he would be living in a remote area.
The man, whose name has been suppressed, said he was prepared to offer Fardon a temporary place to stay so he could avoid the media when he was freed.
The 40ah property, at a location suppressed by the court, had a main home and four cabins, and the man proposed Fardon would live in the most remote cabin, half way up a mountain.
He said the cabin would have no telephone connected, no mobile phones worked in the area and there was basically no public transport.
"There is a school bus you can catch in the morning and returns in the afternoon," he said, referring to members of the public travelling on it to reach the nearest town.
Yesterday, a psychiatrist who interviewed Fardon for a report for the hearing, testified he may still be a sexual sadist.
Fardon's applications were refused in the Supreme Court in 2003 and in May and December, 2005, as well as appeals in the Queensland Court of Appeal and the High Court.
Queensland's Dangerous Prisoners Act that allows the state to detain sex offenders indefinitely beyond their release date if they remain a threat to the community.
Justice Ann Lyons reserved her decision.

AAP (21-7-2006)
Suzanne Klotz

Child Rapist 'Still Sadist Threat'

A CONVICTED child rapist seeking release after serving his full jail sentence might still be a sexual sadist capable of re-offending, a psychiatrist told a court today.
Robert John Fardon, 57, was due for release on June 27, 2003, from the Townsville Correctional Centre after serving out a 14-year sentence for the rape, sodomy and assault of a woman in 1988.
Fardon assaulted the woman when he had only been out of jail on parole for 20 days after serving an eight-year sentence for raping a 12-year-old girl and wounding her 15-year-old sister.
Robert Moyle – one of two psychiatrists who evaluated Fardon for today's Brisbane Supreme Court application – said Fardon still retained a hostile, resentful attitude.
"I concluded that he may have sexual sadism as a particular problem," Dr Moyle testified.
He said Fardon revealed in detail to police his sadistic thoughts as he raped the 12-year-old, and these were still very concerning.
Dr Moyle said when he interviewed Fardon he asked him about his attitude towards female prison officers, to gauge his current attitude towards women with whom he had regular contact, and his reply was: "to me they are dirty, f***ing, rotten scrags".
But Dr Moyle conceded, under cross-examination by barrister Dan O'Gorman, for Fardon, that if he abided by a strict supervision release order for 10 years, then he probably would not be any further risk.
This is Fardon's fourth bid for freedom in the Supreme Court, hoping to prove that he no longer poses a risk under the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act.
Fardon's applications were refused in the Supreme Court in 2003 and May and December, 2005, as well as appeals in the Queensland Court of Appeal and the High Court.
Queensland's Dangerous Prisoners Act allows the state to detain sex offenders indefinitely beyond their release date if they remain a threat to the community.
The hearing before newly appointed Justice Ann Lyons continues tomorrow.

AAP (20-7-2006)
Suzanne Klotz

Serial Rapist Remains Behind Bars

A SERIAL rapist will remain in a Queensland jail indefinitely despite psychiatric evidence he is more in touch with his "inner self".
Robert John Fardon, 57, has already served his 14-year sentence for rape, sodomy and assault on a woman in 1988, but he is still behind bars.
The offence was committed only 20 days after he had served eight years for raping a 12-year-old girl and wounding her sister, 15.
Fardon was due for release from Townsville Correctional Centre on June 27, 2003, but the Queensland Supreme Court ruled at the time that he still posed a risk.
He became the first man held in jail under Queensland's Dangerous Prisoners Act that allows the state to detain prisoners indefinitely beyond their release date if they remain a threat to the community.
Despite an appeal by the Prisoners Legal Service, the High Court ruled last year the law was constitutional.
The Supreme Court in Brisbane rejected Bardon's latest application for freedom today because he remained a significant threat.
Fardon previously told the court he was a changed man and accepted total responsibility for what he has done.
Psychiatrist Basil James testified that he was encouraged by the changes he had witnessed in Fardon, saying he was more able to "direct his attention to his inner self".
However, Professor James noted these changes were "embryonic".
Justice Martin Moynihan remained sceptical of Fardon's motivations.
"There is occasion to doubt how robust his resolve, even if it is genuine, will be when it is tested," Justice Moynihan wrote.
He favoured Fardon's gradual release into the community, but not until he saw more signs of genuine progress

AAP (11-5-2005)
Johanna Leggatt

Court Backs Indefinite Lock-Up

DANGEROUS sex offenders who refuse therapy can be kept in jail even after finishing their sentences, the High Court ruled yesterday.
Australia's most important court also ruled that even model prisoners could be kept in jail indefinitely, if that was what the sentencing judge had recommended. Six out of the seven High Court judges found a Queensland law allowing the indefinitely detention of dangerous sexual offenders who refused rehabilitation therapy was lawful.
The court made the ruling in rejecting an appeal by rapist Robert John Fardon, 54.
Last year a Queensland Supreme Court judge refused to release Fardon even though he had already served his 14-year sentence for rape, sodomy and unlawful assault.
The judge ruled that Fardon's refusal to participate in jail courses designed to reduce the likelihood of him reoffending meant he remained a serious danger to the community.
In the High Court the lone dissenting judge, Justice Michael Kirby, compared the ruling to law practices in Nazi Germany.
He said the 1930s courts in Germany punished "the estimated character of the criminal instead of the proved facts of the crime".
The court also supported the NSW Government's refusal to release some "lifers" once they had served their minimum term.
All the High Court judges except Justice Kirby rejected an appeal by notorious murderer and torture rapist Allan Baker.

Herald/ Weekly Times (2-10-2004)
Wayne Howell

Serial Rapist Stays Behind Bars

SERIAL rapist Robert John Fardon could remain in jail for the rest of his life after the first test of Queensland's controversial dangerous sexual offender laws.
Supreme Court Justice Margaret White yesterday granted an application from Attorney-General Rod Welford to keep Fardon behind bars indefinitely despite the fact he had served out his sentence.
The landmark decision paves the way for the State Government to pursue an ever-growing list of other convicted dangerous sex offenders.
However, lawyers for Fardon said the matter would now go to the High Court of Australia in a bid to have the law deemed unconstitutional.
Fardon, 54, was due for release on June 27 from the Townsville Correctional Centre after serving a 14-year sentence for rape, sodomy and assault on a woman in 1988.
He had been out of jail on parole for only 20 days after serving eight years for raping a 12-year-old and wounding her 15-year-old sister.
Justice White, in a written judgment handed down at 2.30pm yesterday, found Fardon remained an unacceptable risk of re-offending if released.
"(Fardon) must be detained so that the community may be adequately protected," Justice White said. "What is of major concern is the failure by (Fardon) to participate in or to participate to completion a course or courses of therapy . . . related to his violent sexual offending or alcohol and drug relapse prevention."
However, Justice White found that should Fardon undergo successful rehabilitation there was a chance he could one day be reintegrated back into the community.
Fardon's first victim, who was just 12 when he raped her while high on magic-mushroom tea, said outside court she would now sleep soundly for the first time since the 1978 attack.
The woman, now 37, who cannot be identified, said Fardon had not changed since he attacked her and she hoped he would rot in prison.
"I don't believe leopards change their spots when they are child predators," she said. "I will sleep well tonight knowing that he is where he belongs."
Prisoners' Legal Service solicitor Cathy Pereira, for Fardon, said they would consider an appeal.

Queensland Newspapers (7-11-2003)
Tony Keim

Plan To Keep Sex Offender's In Jail

JAILED sex offenders who posed a serious risk to the community would be blocked from release under laws to go before Queensland parliament this week.
Under the laws, the state attorney-general would be able to apply to the Supreme Court for an order to keep a prisoner in jail beyond their original sentence if they posed a serious danger to the community.
Premier Peter Beattie said today the laws would only apply to dangerous sex offenders who had not been rehabilitated and were likely to reoffend.
"It is a sad fact that there are some people in our prisons who either cannot or will not control their perverted sexual urges," Mr Beattie said today.
"We have a responsibility to protect our children from these people."
Attorney-General Rod Welford said there would be checks and balances to ensure prisoners' civil and legal rights were protected.
Mr Welford said the Supreme Court would review every continuing detention order annually.
The court would consider an offender's character, criminal history, family and social background, participation in rehabilitation and two independent psychiatric reports.
Victims would be able to make submissions to the attorney-general.
Queensland Council for Civil Liberties spokesman Terry O'Gorman said the legislation was "politically driven", making an issue out of the future release of one prisoner.
Robert John Fardon, 54, will complete a 14-year jail term on June 29 for rape and sodomy offences.
He reportedly failed to complete rehabilitation programs and is believed to have told jail officials he will reoffend.
"If what appears to be urgent legislation goes through in the next couple of days, as is forecast, it simply means if the Opposition of the day or a pressure group can make an issue out of a prisoner's release, then what the judge says on sentence becomes irrelevant," Mr O'Gorman said.
Meanwhile, other new laws to go to parliament this week will require applicants for nursing and midwifery positions to provide details of their criminal histories.

Advertiser Newspapers-(2-6-2003)

Jailed Rapist First Target of Laws to Stop Release

A SERIAL rapist could become the first Queensland inmate to complete his sentence but be held in jail indefinitely because of fears he will kill when he re-offends.
Robert John Fardon is set to complete a 14-year Jail term on June 29 for rape and sodomy offences and be released from the Townsville Correctional Centre without completing a rehabilitation program.
Fardon, 54, was convicted of raping women and children as young as 12, and is understood to have told prison officers he would kill his next victim to ensure the courts put him back in jail.
The Courier-Mail has learned Attorney-General Rod Welford has completed a review of indefinite sentencing powers and will now take a reform package to Cabinet with the support of Premier Peter Seattle.
Mr Welford started the review after pedophile Dennis Raymond Ferguson was released from prison in January without completing a rehabilitation program or even admitting his crimes.
The Government is now expected to introduce laws to extend jail terms for criminals found to be an ongoing risk to the community, particularly if they refuse rehabilitation and do not take responsibility for their crimes.
The reform package is expected to be fast-tracked through Parliament but senior ministers last night refused to say whether the new laws could keep Fardon in prison.
It is understood Police Minister Tony McGrady alerted Mr Welford of Fardon's pending release, using an early warning system initiated after the Ferguson furore.
Mr McGrady has also proposed reforms which would force serious sex offenders to undergo rehabilitation late in their prison term to ensure the best results.
Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg said if the Government did not act, the Coalition would move a motion in Parliament to force MLAs to decide whether serious sex offenders should be released If they have not completed a rehabilitation program.
Mr Springborg said he believed serious sex offenders should be kept in Jail until they had been rehabilitated, admitted their crimes and showed they would not pose a threat to the community if released.
The protection of the community is paramount," Mr Springborg said.
"Civil rights of these predators should matter absolutely nothing "
Mr Springborg said the National Party proposed similar laws three years ago but then attorney-general Matt Foley only backed Queensland's existing laws, which allow Judges to sentence the worst offenders to an indefinite jail term.
"The fact they ruled this out three years ago has already exposed innocent Queenslanders to these criminals and breached the Government's duty of care," Mr Springborg said.
Government figures obtained by the Opposition show only 8.3 per cent of serious sexual offenders released from prison in 2001-2002 had successfully completed a rehabilitation program. The figures show only 11 of 72 serious sexual offenders released last financial year took part in a rehabilitation program.

Queensland Newspapers
Sean Parnell-(26-5-2003)

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