TRIGGER WARNING: This article deals with an account of rape/sexual assault and may be triggering for survivors of abuse.
By AMY STOCKWELL
Last week, while waiting for a bus in Sydney’s Hunter’s Hill, a 30 year old woman was attacked.
She was stabbed and assaulted. Her clothes were torn off in an attempted rape. She suffered a punctured lung and a fractured cheekbone.
What she didn’t know was that the man who was attempting to murder her on that June evening had killed a woman before.
Her attacker, Terrence John Leary, was on parole after serving a prison sentence for murdering a 17 year old woman.
Parole is an important element of our criminal justice system. It is designed to promote rehabilitation of offenders. At its core, the prospect of parole promises release in the community if an offender can demonstrate that they are reformed, remorseful and will not reoffend.
Lately, this system has come under scrutiny because a number of violent offenders have committed hideous crimes against women while on parole.
In circumstances that have now become widely known, Jill Meagher was raped and murdered by Adrian Bayley in Melbourne last year. Bayley had repeatedly been convicted and imprisoned for rape. In fact, he had been convicted of 20 rapes over 23 years. It is now known that Bayley was on parole when he raped and murdered Ms Meagher. He was also on bail for shattering the jaw of a man while he appealed his sentence for that crime.
Top Comments
Disgusting...
The Justice System keeps letting us down with frequent poor decisions to allow the wrong people out of custody and surprise, surprise, they reoffend with often lethal outcomes.
When it's obvious someone should be kept locked up ( especially those who show little or no remorse ) why the bleeping Hell are they set free ?
Thanks for your article Amy. I myself contacted the parole board and got the standard lines about recent changes. What is unclear as you've pointed out why parole for Adrian wasn't revoked after the geelong assault. The parole board also tipped him off about the homicide investigation which they shouldn't have. Offender gets information yet their decision's remain shrouded in mystery!