Quote:

Intellectually disabled WA man released after judge rules he is unfit to plead to child rape charges A man who repeatedly raped a young girl after breaking into her home in an ordeal lasting hours has been released because he is unfit to plead to the charges against him. The man, who has an intellectual disability, had been in prison since his arrest shortly after the 2019 incident. The court heard details of the horrific ordeal suffered by the girl and her friend, who was at her home for a sleepover. The man, who was 29 at the time, entered the child's home through a back door at about 4am. The court was told he had been drinking and had a significant blood alcohol level. He went to the girl's bedroom, where she and her friend were asleep, and told her: "I've been watching you, I love you ... If you scream or make any noise, your family won't breathe." 'Frozen and scared' Prosecutor Nathan Fawkes said the victim's friend was a witness to what was happening but was "frozen and scared", believing she may also be assaulted. When the girl's father came home from work, his daughter told him there was someone hiding in the bathroom. There was a struggle and the 29-year-old was held outside until police arrived. He was charged with three counts of sexual penetration of a child under 13, three counts of indecent dealing, threatening to kill and aggravated burglary. District Court Judge Wendy Gillan formally quashed the indictment on Wednesday. She asked the man if he understood she was ordering his release and he said he did. "What you did is very bad and very serious and you cannot do anything like that again," she told him. "You must not drink, it's not good for you." She said drinking alcohol was "very much a part" of the "very, very bad thing" that he did. Mr Fawkes had argued for a custody order, saying that while the man had no prior criminal record, he had gone from nothing to "almost the top" in terms of the seriousness of offences. He also sought to highlight that there was a bottle shop near where the man would be staying when released, and it was not known how many families lived in the area. Drinking a 'massive concern' But the man's lawyer Monica Snowball said there was "enough support to alleviate the risk to the community". This support included 24/7 care at a suburban residence, where alcohol was banned. The man's sister told the court he wouldn't be given cash because of his prior drinking issues. "Drinking is a massive concern," she said. The man had NDIS funding for behaviour support, including addressing boundaries, consent and healthy relationships, his inability to manage funds, and using alcohol in "maladaptive ways". https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-25/intellectually-disabled-child-rapist-released-not-fit-to-plead-/103747040

If he is mentally unfit to make a plea on child rape charges we don't want these people in the community.

He should not be free to do it again after getting a slap on the wrist he should be isolated from society in a mental health institution.

It’s incredible his been freed.

We recently saw events in Bondi where mental illness caused a tragedy.

Western Australian government needs review the judgement and sack the judge.

Better still, sack the western Australian government!

To what "mental institution" would you have him sent?

Baronvonrort wrote on Apr 25^th, 2024 at 3:28pm:

Quote: Intellectually disabled WA man released after judge rules he is unfit to plead to child rape charges A man who repeatedly raped a young girl after breaking into her home in an ordeal lasting hours has been released because he is unfit to plead to the charges against him. The man, who has an intellectual disability, had been in prison since his arrest shortly after the 2019 incident. The court heard details of the horrific ordeal suffered by the girl and her friend, who was at her home for a sleepover. The man, who was 29 at the time, entered the child's home through a back door at about 4am. The court was told he had been drinking and had a significant blood alcohol level. He went to the girl's bedroom, where she and her friend were asleep, and told her: "I've been watching you, I love you ... If you scream or make any noise, your family won't breathe." 'Frozen and scared' Prosecutor Nathan Fawkes said the victim's friend was a witness to what was happening but was "frozen and scared", believing she may also be assaulted. When the girl's father came home from work, his daughter told him there was someone hiding in the bathroom. There was a struggle and the 29-year-old was held outside until police arrived. He was charged with three counts of sexual penetration of a child under 13, three counts of indecent dealing, threatening to kill and aggravated burglary. District Court Judge Wendy Gillan formally quashed the indictment on Wednesday. She asked the man if he understood she was ordering his release and he said he did. "What you did is very bad and very serious and you cannot do anything like that again," she told him. "You must not drink, it's not good for you." She said drinking alcohol was "very much a part" of the "very, very bad thing" that he did. Mr Fawkes had argued for a custody order, saying that while the man had no prior criminal record, he had gone from nothing to "almost the top" in terms of the seriousness of offences. He also sought to highlight that there was a bottle shop near where the man would be staying when released, and it was not known how many families lived in the area. Drinking a 'massive concern' But the man's lawyer Monica Snowball said there was "enough support to alleviate the risk to the community". This support included 24/7 care at a suburban residence, where alcohol was banned. The man's sister told the court he wouldn't be given cash because of his prior drinking issues. "Drinking is a massive concern," she said. The man had NDIS funding for behaviour support, including addressing boundaries, consent and healthy relationships, his inability to manage funds, and using alcohol in "maladaptive ways". If he is mentally unfit to make a plea on child rape charges we don't want these people in the community. He should not be free to do it again after getting a slap on the wrist he should be isolated from society in a mental health institution.

If someone is found "unfit to stand trial," they can be held for an indefinite period in a suitable facility, but finding that facility could be a problem.  Otherwise they would have to be held in a correctional facility which might not be suitable for people with a cognitive impairment. 

I worked in mental health and several times a week we had acute psychiatric care ringing around the facilities looking for a bed for their patients.  There weren't any and we never had any spare beds ever.  At times we had to send a patient to acute care.  Within 24 hours they would be trying to send that patient back.  This would result in a standoff in the car park where the manager would refuse to admit the patient because they were not stabilised. The ambo drivers would refuse to transport the patient back to acute care unless they had a police escort for the patient. This would take some time but eventually the ambulance, plus patient, plus police would depart.   

The situation is dire - and has been since it was decided to deinstitutionalise mental health and treat patients in the community.  This might be ok for some patients who will take their meds, but for others like schizophrenics who go off their meds for whatever reason, this puts everyone at risk. 

Apart from that however, I am concerned that these young girls appear to have been at home overnight alone.  It wasn't until the father arrived home that police were called. 

Aquarius wrote on Apr 26^th, 2024 at 10:47am:

Apart from that however, I am concerned that these young girls appear to have been at home overnight alone.  It wasn't until the father arrived home that police were called.

Where do you imagine the mother was? You are assuming this was a sole parent family based on what precisely?

Sounds like the judge wishes she'd been the one getting sexually assaulted