in brief: melbourne woman’s murderer had long history of violent sex attacks

Adrian Bayley, the man who raped and murdered Irish woman Jill Meagher in Melbourne last September has accepted that he should be sentenced to life in prison for the crimes in a pre-sentencing hearing yesterday.

A suppression order has also been lifted on his criminal history, revealing a litany of violent crimes against women over a 20-year period. It can also be reported that he was on parole at the time of Jill Meagher’s murder. Despite pleading guilty to a violent attack on a man in Geelong that left the victim unconscious, his parole was not revoked.

In 1990, Bayley attacked three girls in separate incidences, including a 16 year old friend of his sister, a 17 year old girl, and a 16 year old hitchhiker whom he abducted. He was convicted the following year for rape, attempted rape and threatening to kill. He was sentenced to five years imprisonment but was released after serving just 22 months.

He later admitted to bluffing his way through a sexual offenders rehabilitation program in order to secure time off for good behaviour. In an interview with psychologist Professor James Ogloff, Bayley explained that he ‘basically went through the motions and told them what they wanted to hear’.

Bayley’s crimes continued in the early 2000s when he embarked on a string of horrific attacks against sex workers in St Kilda. Beginning in September 2000, Bayley raped five female sex workers over a period of six months. He was sentenced in 2002 to at least eight years in prison for sixteen counts of rape against the women.

In March 2010 he was released on parole for those offences, but 17 months later he king hit a Geelong man, leaving him unconscious and with a broken jaw. In February 2012 he was found guilty of the assault and sentenced to three months jail. He appealed and was freed until a later court date. The parole board took no action to revoke his parole despite his conviction for yet another violent attack.

After his arrest for the rape and murder of Jill Meagher, Bayley told police: ‘They should have the death penalty for people like me… How many chances does a person need? They should never have let me out.’

The Victorian government has already conceded that existing laws in relation to repeat violent offenders have failed. New legislation will soon be introduced that will ensure those who offend whilst on parole will have their parole immediately cancelled or reassessed. Sex and violent offenders who commit similar crimes will have their parole automatically revoked.