Wells – No escape under tough new sex offender laws

Tougher laws to stamp out crimes against children Laws impose greater restrictions on the travel, identification and appearance of sex offenders
Napthine Government building a safer Victoria for our children Convicted sex offenders could be charged with a raft of new offences under laws that have been strengthened by the Napthine Government.

Minister for Police and Emergency Services Kim Wells said amended laws around the Sex Offender Register create new indictable offences for sex offenders who fail to report or deliberately mislead police over contact with children.

“By further protecting our children from convicted sex offenders, we are making Victoria safer for our most precious asset,” Mr Wells said.

Mr Wells said under the new, tougher measures, if an offender willfully misleads or fails to tell police about relationships with children, grooming, or interaction with children that could lead to reoffending, they will face indictable offences.

“This Bill makes clear the obligations of those people on the Sex Offender Register,” Mr Wells said.

“It includes any kind of online contact with children and it also makes it a summary offence for someone on the register if they fail to tell police of changes to their personal details, for instance if they get a new tattoo or change cars.”

Mr Wells said the Amendment Bill gives police the powers they need to keep Victorian children as safe as possible.

“It clears up any ambiguity over what information police require from people on the register.”

The Amendment Bill will also:

Impose stricter controls on the overseas travel of those on the
register, helping combat child sex tourism;
Permit police to disclose the identity of someone on the register to a
parent, guardian or other third party in order to protect a child’s
safety;
Help police to investigate child sex offences by allowing law
enforcement agencies to retain information and intelligence on people
on the register after they have completed their reporting obligations;
and
Make offenders more accountable for reporting contact with children by
overhauling the definition of contact with children to make it clearer
and more enforceable.

Mr Wells said the Napthine Government’s tough stance on crime was filling in the gaps left behind by Labor.

“It will help to stamp out the gross, depraved acts perpetrated on some of the most vulnerable in our community – children,” Mr Wells said.

The Amendment Bill responds directly to recommendations made by the Victorian Law Reform Commission after a review of the Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004.