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STAFF at the prison where serial rapist Paul Stephen Keating abducted and brutally attacked an education officer will never recover and are brought to the verge of tears by talking about the ordeal. Western Australia's executive director of prisons, Ian Johnson, yesterday said some education officers had resigned after the siege at Bunbury Regional Prison, 180km south of Perth. "I have been down there (Bunbury prison) three times - you start to talk about this incident and their eyes just well up with tears," he said. "I don't think they will ever for one moment get over this." Mr Johnson said prison staff across the state and their families, as well as other prisoners, had been appalled by the attack. Inmates had even undertaken the work needed to improve safety. Keating, already serving an indefinite jail order and life term for previous sex offences, was sentenced on Thursday to 24 years jail without parole for 15 offences arising from the March 16 attack. He admitted forcing the tutor into a cupboard, where he held her at knife point and repeatedly raped her during a six-hour siege. District Court chief judge Antoinette Kennedy said Keating, 46, should be kept in jail until he was too physically infirm to pose a risk. Judge Kennedy said Keating was in a special handling unit of Perth's maximum-security Casuarina prison. "If it has anything to do with me, he will never leave Casuarina again," Judge Kennedy said. Mr Johnson said there had been immediate changes to improve safety in response to the attack, including increased prisoner supervision, modifications to doors and locks, and duress alarms for staff. "We would not have got people back in that building (Bunbury prison) delivering programs if things had not been changed," he said. Mr Johnson said an extra 200 prison officers had been recruited over the past eight months and improvements would continue under a 61-point compliance system, based on a British model. The Australian (17-9-2005) Amanda Banks |
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PLOTTING a brutal attack against his prison education worker for more than three months, sadistic rapist Paul Stephen Keating was armed with a knife and bottle of baby oil when a lapse in security gave him a chance to strike. Keating dragged the struggling tutor into a cupboard, intending to kill her. But he could not go through with it, releasing her after a six-hour siege at the Bunbury Regional Prison, 180km south of Perth, on March 16. Pleading and begging for Keating to stop, the 48-year-old married mother of two was repeatedly raped, sodomised and assaulted during the violent and demeaning attack. Throughout the ordeal, Keating doused the woman with aerosol, threatening to set fire to them both and to kill and mutilate the tutor, who was eventually "completely frozen" with terror. "Shut up, you arrogant bitch, or I'll slit your throat," the "wild and ferocious" Keating threatened. To guards outside the cupboard, Keating yelled: "I will kill her, I will cut her throat. Can't you see I have f..king snapped? You know what I am capable of. F..k off out of here." Sentencing Keating yesterday to 24 years' jail without parole, West Australian District Court Chief Judge Antoinette Kennedy said the 46-year-old should never be released until he was too physically infirm to pose a risk. In and out of jail since he was 17, Keating is serving a life sentence and an indefinite jail term for previous sex offences - but the serial offender is confident he will strike again. Prosecutor Linda Petrusa said that during the ordeal Keating told his victim the prison system would eventually give him another chance to attack. As Ms Petrusa read the details of the crime yesterday, Keating sat emotionless in the dock. The prison's superintendent, Andy Smith, wept in the public gallery as the horror of the ordeal was revealed. In a victim impact statement on behalf of prison staff, Mr Smith - who has worked in the system for 22 years - said the incident was the most serious in the department's history and had led to widespread changes to improve the safety of prison officers and the community. Families, staff and prisoners had felt the tragic effect of Keating's act of betrayal after working his way in to a position of trust as a cleaner in the prison's education complex. Ms Petrusa told the court that during the attack, Keating spoke of his dual love and hate for the tutor, who had "created as normal an environment as he could ever have had in his life". Keating told the woman he could not and did not want to change, admitting to police he had fantasised about the attack for some time and understood his inhumane acts. "He considered himself to be a political prisoner who had been refused inclusion in a pre-release program for the past five years despite recommendations to the contrary," Ms Petrusa said, describing Keating's prospect of rehabilitation as "zero". Defence counsel Jim Sutherland said Keating was truly sorry for his offences and had accepted the prosecution's case to spare his victim a trial. Judge Kennedy said Keating had endured a terrible childhood - his mother had tried to drown him before he was six, after which he was abandoned and sexually abused. The Australian (16-9-2005) Amanda Banks |
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PRISONER Paul Stephen Keating allegedly raped a female support staffer 10 times during a six-hour siege at Bunbury Regional Prison. After a two-week investigation into the March 16 attack, police yesterday charged Keating with a total of 18 offences including 10 counts of aggravated sexual penetration, four counts of threat to kill, two counts of aggravated indecent assault, a count each of deprivation of liberty and assault occasioning bodily harm. Police will allege Keating, 45, repeatedly sexually assaulted the woman while holding her captive at knife-point in a small cupboard at the medium-security jail. He allegedly sprayed her with a flammable liquid and threatened to kill her if his demands were not met. Keating released the woman and surrendered to police after about six hours and was transferred to the maximum-security Casuarina Prison the next day. The Department of Justice, which has come under intense criticism for a string of escapes and security breaches at West Australian prisons in recent weeks, has launched an inquiry into the attack. However, it has refused to reveal what security measures it has taken at the Bunbury prison in response to the incident. Community and Public Sector Union branch secretary Toni Walkington, whose members include prison support staff, said the charges against Keating highlighted the seriousness of the security breach. "This certainly confirms our workers' worst fears," she said. "We regret the Government and the department failed to address the situation." Ms Walkington warned the department may lose prison support staff unless it dealt with staffing, occupational health and safety, and design issues at prisons. In response to questions in state parliament yesterday, Attorney-General Jim McGinty conceded that Keating should have been returned to a maximum security jail after he, the minister, rejected a Parole Board recommendation for Keating's release last year. The Australian (1-4-2005) Kathryn Shine/ Amanda Banks |
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PRISON hostage-taker Paul Stephen Keating fantasised about kidnapping, raping and mutilating the facilitator of his sex offender treatment program before claiming he was a reformed man and a model prisoner. Keating told the female psychologist he wanted to chop her into little pieces with a knife, according to an official report on the incident. "He had been fantasising about taking her hostage and subjecting her to hours of mutilation and rape," the report said. "He further claimed that he wanted to inflict maximum pain by cutting her up slowly with a view to killing her. "He made these threats as he became angry after he had been advised that (another therapist) instead of her would conduct individual counselling with him. He perceived this as rejection and became angry towards her." The serial sex criminal was removed from the program in 1998, but successfully completed it in 2001, when he was declared to have mended his ways and had a low risk of re-offending. The Parole Board twice recommended a pre-release program, in 2003 and 2004, but both moves were blocked by Attorney-General Jim McGinty and then justice minister Michelle Roberts. A graphic description of Wednesday night's siege at Bunbury Regional Prison has emerged, as police continue to compile charges against Keating, who is believed to have sexually assaulted his university tutor during a six-hour hostage drama. At 3.30pm an officer heard "a strange noise like a muffled female's whimper" and realised the noise came from the nearby education centre, where Keating was alone with his tutor. As he approached, the officer saw that Keating had the woman in a headlock with a knife to her throat. The officer told Keating to drop the knife, but the serial rapist threatened to kill the woman if they were not left alone. "F*** off, Johnny, you know what I am capable of. I will cut her throat," Keating replied. The officer left to call for help and when he returned Keating had barricaded himself and the tutor in a stores cupboard. Keating shouted that his life was over and if officers tried anything he would kill the hostage, who could be heard telling him to "go ahead and get it over with". Keating sprayed an aerosol can and threatened to ignite the fumes and kill them both in the cupboard. It was six hours before officers and a psychologist convinced him to free the woman. Psychological assessments of Keating show his attacks, which have included two previous female prison staff, begin with an infatuation. The 45-year-old, who felt rejected by his mother, "falls in love" with women and becomes angry when he thinks they have rejected him. In 2000, a female staffer reported feeling threatened by Keating when he approached her with a knife after a male officer briefly left a food preparation area. It was noted that "there is a need to ensure adequate observation of Mr Keating when near females". It is not known why Keating was left alone with the university tutor last Wednesday. AAP (20-3-2005) Colleen Egan |
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AN INVESTIGATION now under way into last Wedesday's sex attack at Bunbury Regional Prison, 200km south of Perth, will examine why prison security allowed a convicted sex criminal who had sexually assaulted female prison staff twice before, to be left alone with a female prison tutor. Serial rapist Paul Stephen Keating held Josephine Siers in a headlock and pressed the knife to her throat. "F..K off, Johnny you know what I'm capable of. I will cut her throat." Blood trickled from a wound on her forehead. "Drop the knife!" the prison officer shouted. "Drop the knife!" Keating, agitated and angry, responded by repeating his threat, warning he would kill Ms Siers if the officer did not leave the area. Senior officer John Barfield went to summon assistance. But by the time he returned, Keating had barricaded himself in the education unit stores cupboard with Ms Siers, whose real name cannot be revealed. It had an inward-opening door. In the face of Keating's threats, Ms Siers remained defiant."Go ahead and get it over with," she told him. "Shut up," he replied. "Or I will have to kill you." For Ms Siers, a married prison tutor in her mid-40s who knew Keating well, it was the start of a terrifying and humiliating six-hour ordeal as Keating doused her with solvent, threatened to set her on fire and repeatedly raped her. Keating was jailed for rape in 1977 and sexually assaulted women on each of the three times he escaped from jail. He was convicted of aggravated, indecent assault on a female prison psychologist in 1987 and raped an officer in a toilet block at Casuarina Prison in 1992. An internal report on the attack at the medium-security prison describes how staff stood helplessly on the other side of the door listening to Ms Siers's distressed moans. For the purposes of this report, the names of the victim and prison staff have been changed by The Weekend Australian. The identity of Keating, described by West Australian Attorney-General Jim McGinty as "one of the worst criminals in the state" is well-known. As prison staff tried to persuade Keating to release Ms Siers, he told them through the door that "his life was over" and that if officers attempted anything, he would kill Ms Siers. "I've had enough of all this shit," he said, demanding to be transferred to the special handling unit at Casuarina Prison "without the bullshit" or he would kill his hostage. Keating began to spray solvent from an aerosol can, warning he would ignite the fumes, killing himself and the hostage if anyone tried to force the door. Ms Siers would be dead by the time they entered, he said. Staff advised Ms Siers not to resist and to do exactly as Keating told her. The official report indicates she complied. Senior prison staff tried to negotiate with Keating, but he insisted on speaking to clinical consultant Ken Morris and said he would only negotiate with prison officer Mark Forster. Dr Morris spoke to Keating by phone from Perth, trying to deter him from further violence, before boarding a helicopter to fly to Bunbury. Prison and police negotiators were making some progress, however, and at 9.45pm Keating surrendered to police. Ms Siers was taken to hospital and the education area of the prison was sealed off as a crime scene. Keating's request to be transferred to Casuarina Prison, a high-security institution in Perth, was granted on Thursday. The state Department of Justice, which has come under strong intense criticism for failing to prevent the attack, is investigating the incident, as are the police. Department of Justice regional and rural prisons director Tim Connolly said he could not explain how Keating was able to grab the teacher when protocol demanded prisoners in the education unit be supervised by at least one guard at all times. The security breach has outraged the Community and Public Sector Union, which says it has repeatedly called for prison staff numbers to be increased for safety reasons. Keating, 45, who has been in jail since he was 17, has an appalling record of violent sexual crimes. The second-youngest of eight children, who had a difficult relationship with his mother and never saw his father, Keating moved from NSW to Western Australia in 1977. He was initially considered a very high risk for re-offending, but in recent years had impressed prison staff and psychologists with what seemed a new maturity and willingness to change. He was transferred from Casuarina to the medium-security Bunbury jail in May 2002, where he has since been living independently in the self-care unit. At Bunbury, he began studying for a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree with the help of education staff. An exemplary student who also cleaned the education unit and library, he developed a strong rapport with staff, who considered him trustworthy and safe. According to reports to the parole board, the prison teachers provided pivotal support to Keating, who had benefited greatly from his academic success. On the basis of favourable reports from prison staff and psychologists, the state's Parole Board has twice recommended Keating be admitted to a two-year program to prepare him for release from jail, but Attorney-General Jim McGinty has vetoed the plan on each occasion. Mr Connolly said Keating was reclassified as a medium-security prisoner after completing several intensive programs to address his sex offending. The Weekend Australian has learned that Keating was removed from a sex offender treatment program in 1998 after he admitted he had fantasised about raping the female facilitator. He successfully completed the second program in June 2001. Mr Connolly said there was little difference in the rules and routines of medium and maximum-security prisons. "All our prisons are highly interactive," Mr Connolly said. "There is an inherent risk factor in working with prisoners." The Australian (19-3-2005) Kathryn Shine |
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A FEMALE jail worker was raped by one of Western Australia's most notorious sexual predators during a six-hour hostage ordeal inside a medium-security prison. In an extraordinary failure of prison security, Paul Stephen Keating, who is serving an indefinite sentence, snatched the education officer and held her at knife-point, keeping authorities at bay during the attack. Even more disturbing, it was Keating's third sexual assault against a female jail worker. Keating trapped the woman in a storage room at Bunbury Regional Prison, doused her with a flammable liquid, held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her during the standoff. The State Government and Department of Justice yesterday faced intense criticism for allowing Keating to be transferred to the medium-security prison, south of Perth. Keating, 45, is serving an indefinite sentence for a string of mostly sexually related crimes. He was convicted of an aggravated indecent assault on a female prison psychologist in 1987, and raped a prison officer in a toilet block at Casuarina Prison in 1992. The officer raped at Casuarina accused the Justice Department yesterday of incompetence and demanded more stringent controls. "I don't want another girl hurt, because next time she will be killed," she said. "He gets worse every time." The Justice Department admitted there had been a failure but was unable to explain how Keating had had the opportunity to attack again. He was transferred from Perth's maximum-security Casuarina Prison to the medium-security jail in May 2002 - a move questioned yesterday by state Attorney-General Jim McGinty. "I think there was a lack of diligence in making sure that the right security classification applied to this person," Mr McGinty said. "Paul Keating is one of the worst criminals in this State." Department of Justice regional and rural prisons director Tim Connolly said Keating was reclassified as a medium-security prisoner after he completed several intensive programs to address his sex-offending. The Australian understands Keating, who was completing a university psychology degree, was considered trustworthy and safe. news.com.au (18-3-2005) Kathyrn Shine |
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A FEMALE prison tutor was sexually assaulted while being held hostage in a jail by a man considered one of Western Australia's most dangerous sex offenders, police said today. Investigations were continuing today into how Paul Stephen Keating, 45, who is already serving an indefinite sentence for raping and sodomising a female prison employee at a maximum security jail in 1992, was left alone with the art teacher at Bunbury Regional Prison in WA's south west. A WA police spokeswoman today said a serious sexual assault had occurred during the six-hour stand-off at the medium security prison on Wednesday, and investigations were continuing. It was his third sexual assault on female prison staff. Charges were likely but that may not happen for days or possibly weeks, the spokeswoman said. WA's Justice Department admitted yesterday it had failed the woman, while Attorney-General Jim McGinty today said "soul-searching" was needed by politicians and officials. "When I first heard about this on the TV news on Wednesday I sat there and I froze in my seat in my loungeroom at home when I heard the name Paul Keating, and that he had a woman hostage," Mr McGinty told radio 6PR. "I really did fear the worst because I know what he has done every other time, and it seems as though he has done the same thing again. "When you have such an extreme, violent, nasty, vicious, subhuman thing happen, (soul searching) needs to happen with me, it needs to happen with the government, it needs to happen with the parole board and most importantly with the Department of Justice." During the hostage drama, Keating doused the tutor with a flammable liquid before barricading them both in a cupboard, demanding he speak to a psychologist and be transferred to a maximum security prison. Following hours of negotiations, the inmate freed the woman and was taken into custody minutes later. Police initially said the tutor suffered head and facial injuries, and that they were investigating whether a sexual assault had occurred. A justice spokesman said Keating had committed more than 30 other serious offences dating back to his teens. After committing his first rape at the age of 17, Keating was subsequently convicted of sexual assaults on two female prison staff while in jail. First, a prison psychologist was attacked in 1986 and then a female guard was assaulted in 1992. Keating also raped a woman while on overnight work release in 1979, and sexually assaulted two prostitutes after escaping jail in 1984. Last year, the WA parole board recommended a release program in which Keating would have been moved to a prison farm before going back into the community, but Mr McGinty rejected the move. Another parole bid was to have been heard by the board yesterday. Keating is now being held in the special handling unit of Perth's maximum security Casuarina prison. AAP (18-3-2005) Tim Clarke |
Australian News
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