"We're experimenting with them on kids in the community," the source said.
Sex crims to lap up luxury home
Ellen Whinnett
Sunday Herald Sun
September 20, 2009
THREE intellectually disabled sex offenders are to move into a new $800,000 house on a quiet suburban street - courtesy of the Victorian taxpayer.
The "pedophile palace" - a five-bedroom home with flat-screen TVs, computers and landscaped gardens - is on a quiet street in Bellfield.
The Department of Human Services has informed neighbours the home's residents have disabilities.
What the department did not say is that the men are intellectually disabled sex offenders, all of whom are subject to court orders that force them to receive treatment.
Heavy security surrounds the home, which has a secure back-yard hidden behind a fence.
But the security is just a front, with a source confirming all three men were allowed out unsupervised.
The source said the three men were "let loose in the community" to see how they reacted around children. DHS workers would quiz them when they returned to see if they had experienced arousal while looking at children out in the community.
"We're experimenting with them on kids in the community," the source said.
The DHS has owned the house for more than 10 years, and sex offenders, including these three men, have lived in the home before. But this year, the DHS bulldozed the home and built the sprawling new residence, which stands out against the other modest homes in the street.
The men are currently living in a home in another suburb -- next door to children.
The source said DHS staff "crossed their fingers" when the men were allowed out.
"They're street-wise criminals," the source said.
The men were due to move back into the newly completed home during the week, but the DHS changed its plans after being contacted by the Sunday Herald Sun.
DHS spokesman Brendan Ryan said: "The existing residence has operated in this location for at least 15 years with no negative impact on the surrounding community and has simply been replaced with a building that better meets design standards for people with a disability.
The clients are monitored around the clock for support from experienced DHS staff at the residence."
The Sunday Herald Sun asked several neighbours if they were concerned. One neighbour, Lola Lazarri, said she had lived next door to the home for 23 years and apart from noise and the sound of breaking windows, had not experienced problems.
"I'm not happy about it, but I'm not going to make a big fuss," she said.
Corrections Minister Bob Cameron's spokesman, Cameron Scott, said the Government had strengthened the supervision and support measures for sex offenders, and that Victoria had one of the lowest reoffending rates in the nation.
"These provisions link supervision with appropriate treatment and programs both during and after people have completed their sentence," Mr Scott said. "Prior to Labor coming to government, these people were let free without any restrictions at all."
When the Socialist Labor Party Loons new ager’s and crystal gazers are in charge of the Asylum this is what happens i guess.
