Aussies prey on tsunami children
Kathryn Shine.April 16, 2005

ABOUT 20 convicted pedophiles tried to travel to Indonesia and
Thailand immediately after the Boxing Day tsunami to prey on
vulnerable, displaced children.

The pedophiles were forced to tell police they planned to travel
overseas, under the rules of the new national child sex offender
register.

Their details were forwarded to Thai and Indonesian authorities, who
are understood to have refused them entry to their countries.
NSW, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia and the Northern
Territory have established registers that link to the national
database. The other states are due to join the scheme by the end of
the year.

Detective Senior Sergeant Martin Voyez, who heads the West
Australian register, said about 20 registered pedophiles from around
Australian attempted to travel to Thailand and Indonesia earlier
this year.

"After the tsunami, a large number of Indonesian and Thai children
were displaced and became very vulnerable," he said.

"This attracted a higher number of pedophiles to those areas than
usual.

"The details of the pedophiles on the system were communicated to
the Indonesian and Thai authorities.

"We know that countries, including Thailand and Indonesia, do not
allow people on sex offender registers to travel into their
countries.

"They would not give them a visa or they would turn them away at the
airport."

The Australian Federal Police, who are responsible for relaying the
information to overseas authorities, would not release details of
specific cases nor confirm whether they had notified their
Indonesian and Thai counterparts.

An AFP spokesman said the organisation regularly passed information
about pedophilia to police forces within the region. The Weekend
Australian understands that although the AFP relays the information,
it is not always made aware of the outcome of its advice.

Child Wise national director Bernadette McMenamin said she was
delighted Australian authorities were working to prevent child abuse
at home and overseas.

"The register is great," she said. "This is such an improvement but
I would like to see it go further."

"If the offenders are considered to be very high risk they should be
refused the right to leave the country."

Ms McMenamin said Child Wise and other international child
protection agencies held grave fears for children left orphaned and
homeless after the tsunami. "There's no doubt the children are
extremely vulnerable and there has been an increase in trafficking,"
she said.

Under the rules of the national register, convicted pedophiles are
required to tell police where they live and work, what car they
drive, when and where they plan to travel and to what clubs or
associations they belong.

The maximum penalty for failing to register is a two-year jail
sentence and a $12,000 fine.

People must report to police within seven to 28 days of leaving
custody, depending on the state in which they live.

NSW, which was the first state to establish a register, has 1800
pedophiles on its list, while Western Australia has 140, Victoria
138, Queensland 58 and the Northern Territory six.

Police expect 15,000 pedophiles to be registered nationally by the
end of the year.

Only people who were in custody for child sex offences or convicted
of pedophilia when their state legislation was enacted are required
to register. However, the West Australian Government has moved to
expand the state register to include anyone convicted of pedophilia
in the past eight years. Detective Senior Sergeant Voyez said most
pedophiles readily complied with the registering and reporting
obligations.

"Pedophiles are notoriously compliant," he said.

Many recognised the need for a register and some who were not
legally required to provide their details to police had done so
anyway.

"Pedophiles are at high risk of re-offending," he said.
"A vast majority will reoffend. If they are aware they are being
monitored and managed, that's a deterrent. In itself it is not going
to stop people re-offending but it will minimise the risk."

The information on the national register is available only to a
limited number of specialist police. Authorities decided not to make
the information public to avoid vigilantes targeting people with a
history of pedophilia.

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