should we or should we not know

This morning's Age

Hinch challenge on sex offenders

Part of the crowd at yesterday's Crime Victims Support Association rally on the steps of Parliament House in Melbourne.

* Dan Oakes
* June 2, 2008

RADIO talk show host Derryn Hinch could be jailed for the second time for publicly naming a convicted child sex offender in defiance of the law.

At a rally on the steps of Parliament House yesterday, the 3AW presenter named a notorious serial pedophile who has been released into the community after completing his parole period.

The man spent almost 20 years in prison after abusing children as young as four in concert with other pedophiles, including his wife, and is now undergoing chemical castration while on a 15-year extended supervision order.

A County Court judge ruled that, as is the case with other sex offenders, the man's name should be suppressed in the interests of his rehabilitation.

However, Hinch has been campaigning strenuously for the man's name to be released and at yesterday's rally of about 1000 people, laid down the gauntlet by naming him and another sex offender, nicknamed the Armadale Rapist, who is the subject of a similar suppression order.

"You can't know their names, and you can't see their photographs, and you don't know if they're living next door to you, you don't know if they're cultivating your children - they might be very friendly, driving your kids to school," Hinch said.

"Out there there is a man known as the Armadale Rapist. He terrorised the suburbs of Melbourne for years.

"When he was released from jail he offended again within six weeks.

"He attacked a 12-year-old girl in the presence of an eight-year-old. His name has been suppressed.

"Now I have a little test for you, if I tell you a name, on the count of three, I want you to repeat it, then you're all criminals.

"The Armadale Rapist is **** ******. And I'll give you another one … he's one of the worst pedophiles in the history of Australia, and I'll give you his name and on the count of three I want you to repeat it. His name is ****** ******.

"So again you're all criminals!"

Hinch was joined at the rally by tougher sentencing advocates including George Halvagis and Shirley Irwin, who have both lost children at the hands of violent sex offenders.

In a statement yesterday afternoon, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Jeremy Rapke, QC, told The Age he was aware Hinch mighty have breached the orders. He would refer the matter to the police for investigation.

Criminal barrister Greg Barns described Hinch's actions as "outrageous" and a clear case of contempt of court. He called for the controversial radio host to be jailed.

"There's an obvious reason for protecting the names of people who have been released from prison if the reason they were in prison was for child abuse offences. That is to stop this sort of US-style vigilantism, which is very common in that country but fortunately not common here," Mr Barns said.

"Hinch has form for flagrant contempt of the law and he's done it again. He got a jail term last time and if he gets a jail term again it will send a clear message to the community that this sort of vigilantism won't be tolerated in Australia."

Hinch was jailed for 12 days in 1987 after revealing on his radio show the past convictions of a pedophile priest, Father Michael Glennon, despite knowing that Glennon was still to face court over other offences.