On Tuesday, one of Australia’s most notorious child molesters will be released from prison.
Bradley Pen Dragon, 62, will be released from a Western Australian prison despite believing his sexual interest in children is “natural.”
Dragon had been detained under the High Risk Serious Offenders Act on an interim detention order until Supreme Court Justice Larissa Strk ruled on Tuesday that he could be released.
“Having considered all of the evidence, I am satisfied that the risk posed by releasing the respondent on a supervision order can be reduced or avoided to a level that is reasonably acceptable and will ensure adequate community protection,” she said.
Dragon, who served 13 years in prison in Thailand for ‘prolonged and depraved’ sexual abuse of young girls, will be subject to a 10-year supervision order with 62 strict conditions.
The terms include anti-libidinal and psychological treatment, verbal or written accounts of all of his movements, and no unapproved contact with anyone under the age of 18.
The high-risk serious offender believes that “sexual contact with children is a positive experience for the child.”
WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said he shared the public’s concern about a “recidivist child sex offender being released into the community,” but that police would keep an eye on Dragon from the moment he was released.
‘We will have to make certain that we monitor, and we will, very closely,’ he said earlier this month.
‘I can assure you… we are extremely vigilant in our work with high-risk serious offender groups; there are very strict conditions, and we will do everything in our power to protect the community,’ she says.
If Dragon violates the conditions, he will be returned to custody, according to WA Premier Mark McGowan.
Dragon’s impending release, according to State Liberal Leader David Honey, is “extremely disturbing.”
‘It’s clear that he’s a long-term child offender… it’s difficult to see why his behaviour would change given his enormous long history in this area,’ he said.
Dragon, in addition to serving 13 years in a Thai prison for sexually assaulting girls, committed a number of other crimes, including holding a knife to a woman while she was putting her child in their car.
He was recently sentenced for looking up child abuse material on the internet.
Dragon spent nearly five hours on a public computer at a backpacker hostel in August of 2017, according to the WA District Court.
He looked up terms like ‘pre-teen porn’ and ‘child incest’ on the internet. Dragon denied searching for the sickening material when questioned by police.
‘These things just keep appearing when I use the internet,’ he explained to officers at the time.
Judge Hylton Quail rejected Dragon’s explanation for his heinous behaviour, instead describing it as “brazen.”
‘Some of the material, even though animated, is horrifying,’ he said.
The paedophile was sentenced to five years in prison for holding a knife to a mother, only to be locked up again two days later for looking up child abuse material.
Dragon has a ‘paedophilic disorder’ of the non-exclusive variety, which means he is attracted to both girls and boys.
He previously told a psychiatrist that’much of society does not agree with laws restricting access to pornographic material about children or sexual contact with children, and much like homosexual relationships, this may be something that is legalised in the future.’
Since completing his sentence in December 2021, the 62-year-old has been awaiting a Supreme Court decision on his release date.
Dragon is still considered a “high risk and serious offender,” according to Justice Strk, who says he could be released under strict conditions.
Dragon’s 10-year supervision order will also require him to be electronically monitored, live at a specific address, and follow a curfew.
The paedophile told the court he was willing to undergo physical castration, but an Australian psychiatrist said no clinic offered such an operation.
WA’s Shadow Treasurer Steve Thomas said Dragon’s release was ‘absolutely concerning,’ and the state government should be tougher on repeat offenders.
‘I think we’ve gotten to the point where we’re quite soft on law and order issues these days, and it’s time for a much stronger emphasis on holding people accountable for their behaviour,’ he said.
‘I absolutely believe that a tougher on crime approach, with punishment tailored to the crime, is where we want to see this government and society go.’
Dragon has received a private rental from a non-profit organisation that is not affiliated with the State Government.
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