- Dennis Ferguson
-
Dennis Ferguson Born Dennis Raymond Ferguson
February 5, 1948Nationality Australian Criminal charge Kidnapping, sodomy, gross indecency, indecent dealing and carnal knowledge Criminal penalty 14 years (1989–2003)
15 months (2003–2004)Criminal status Released Dennis Raymond Ferguson (born 5 February 1948) is an Australian man convicted of child sexual abuse. In 1988, he kidnapped and sexually abused three children, and was sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment.[1] Ferguson was forced on numerous occasions to relocate his residence from various locations around Australia, due to public hostility and news media attention.[2][3]
Contents
Criminal history
According to court records, Dennis Ferguson's pre-1987 criminal history contains "many convictions for false pretences, various assaults on children and indecent assaults on females",[1] including five convictions for child molestation.[4] In 1987 Ferguson was imprisoned in Long Bay Jail after being convicted on multiple fraud charges.[1]
After being released from Long Bay Jail in July 1987, Ferguson, then aged 40, and his 23-year-old male lover, Alexandria George Brookes, abducted three children, two boys and a girl, from Sydney. Ferguson had previously got to know the children's father, who was a fellow inmate in Long Bay Jail, and Ferguson was told that the children had previously been sexually abused. Ferguson and Brookes flew the children to Brisbane, and sexually assaulted them in a house in the Brisbane suburb of Kedron. The following night, Ferguson and Brookes moved the three children to a motel in the suburb of Ascot, where they again abused the children. Police arrested Ferguson and Brookes at the motel, where they found Ferguson naked with the children. Ferguson told police, "I can help you. Pornography. Kiddy porn, I can get you kiddy porn."[1] Ferguson claimed he was innocent, accusing one of the boys he molested of committing the crimes,[5] but a jury found him guilty of all counts of abduction and assault of the three children. He was sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment, by a judge who noted there was no chance he would be rehabilitated.[1][4]
While in jail he refused to take part in rehabilitation programs,[6] and attempted to obtain police photographs of his victims under the Freedom of Information Act.[7] An order was obtained requiring Ferguson to report his whereabouts to police after fellow inmates reported plans by him to molest the eight-year old daughter of the family with whom he would reside after being released.[8][7]
In 2003, New South Wales Police surveillance located Ferguson in Parramatta Public School. Ferguson was forbidden from entering schools, and claimed he was distributing cleaning products for groups needing to raise funds. A court convicted him under the NSW Child Protection Offenders Registration Act, and he was sentenced to a further 15 months' prison in the John Morony Correctional Centre. He was released in December 2004.[9]
The following year, in November 2005, Ferguson was charged with sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl at her home in the Queensland town of Dalby. In a rare legal move, the judge granted Ferguson a bench trial (without a jury), as he considered Ferguson would not receive a fair trial by jury, due to the enormous amount of media coverage. The judge found that while the girl had been molested while Ferguson and fellow convicted child sexual abuser Allan Guy had been at her house, it could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt that Ferguson had been responsible, rather than Guy,[10] and that he should be released.[11] The girl had clearly identified 'Dennis' as the perpetrator of her abuse.[10]
Relocation
After being released from jail in 2004, Ferguson was forced to move from numerous locations in Queensland, due to public pressure and media attention.[2] Angry residents forced him to flee the towns of Bundaberg, Toowoomba and Murgon. In February 2005, he settled in Ipswich with another pedophile,[12] but was again found by neighbours and the media. There were reports of rocks being thrown at his house.[13] A judge awarded Ferguson $2,250 in compensation from an invalid Ipswich pensioner who pled guilty to threatening him.[12] Other protests have been more peaceable.[14]
In July 2008, he moved to a rural property near Miles, Queensland, but after word of his location spread, cars began to arrive at the property, and the police were called after 60 people began chanting anti-Ferguson slogans.[15]
In 2009, he moved into a public housing apartment in the Sydney suburb of Ryde where he was given a five-year lease. Some residents of the area were outraged at Ferguson's presence, after news organisations revealed where he was living- near a primary school and playgrounds.[16][17] Angry males shouted on the street, and police found a Molotov cocktail near Ferguson's apartment building; Ferguson claims that one man broke into his house and assaulted him.[2] By 2010, neighbours had forced him to leave Ryde.[18]
New South Wales Police attempted to obtain a court order banning Ferguson from public pools and parks,[19] after he began frequenting a pool during primary school children's swimming lessons.[20] While the safety order was denied by a judge, they did succeed in obtaining an order requiring him to notify the child protection authority before engaging in charity activities that would put him in contact with childen - a precaution that was prompted after he was spotted selling children's toys for a charity for which he had registered using his middle name, Ray.[19][21] Ferguson had been selling them without a legally mandated permit and police approval.[21]
A program set up by the government agency Centrelink to reunite missing persons was suspended indefinitely in September 2009, after it was discovered that Dennis Ferguson had accessed the service to reunite with his 1987 criminal accomplice, Alexandria George Brookes.[22]
Legislative changes
In September 2009, in response to public anger at Ferguson living in the Ryde area, the Government of New South Wales under Premier Nathan Rees moved to introduce legislation to allow the government to evict child sex offenders from public housing. Critics dubbed the legislation the Dennis Ferguson Act, and said it was created as a result of the state government caving in to vigilantism.[23]
References
- ^ a b c d e "Inside the mind of evil predator, convicted paedophile Dennis Ferguson". The Daily Telegraph. 19 September 2009. http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/inside-the-mind-of-evil-predator-convicted-paedophile-dennis-ferguson/story-e6freuy9-1225776838465. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
- ^ a b c "Nothing to fear from me, says pedophile". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 September 2009. http://www.smh.com.au/national/nothing-to-fear-from-me-says-pedophile-20090916-fq3e.html. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
- ^ "Paedophile back behind bars". The Age (Melbourne). 24 November 2003. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/11/24/1069522530779.html.
- ^ a b Smith, Wayne (11 January 2003). "Perversion of the law - background to the Dennis Ferguson case". The Courier-Mail. http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23968372-5017590,00.html. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
- ^ Lawrence, Kara (19 September 2009). "Paedophile Dennis Ferguson views himself as the victim". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.news.com.au/national/paedophile-dennis-ferguson-views-himself-as-the-victim/story-e6frfkvr-1225776892555.
- ^ http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2005/s1294801.htm
- ^ a b "Queensland looks at laws as paedophile released". PM (ABC News). 9 January 2003. http://www.abc.net.au/pm/stories/s760450.htm.
- ^ "Qld paedophile set to be released". The Age (Melbourne). 9 January 2003. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/01/09/1041990031134.html.
- ^ "Police to monitor released pedophile". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 December 2004. http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Police-to-monitor-released-pedophile/2004/12/11/1102625587932.html. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
- ^ a b Oberhardt, Mark (4 March 2009). "Judge in Ferguson trial retires to consider verdict". The Courier-Mail. http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/ferguson-judgment-tomorrow/story-e6freoof-1111119028520.
- ^ "Ferguson not guilty on child abuse charge". ABC News. 6 March 2009. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/03/06/2509206.htm. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- ^ a b http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/ferguson-wont-get-my-cash/story-e6freoof-1111117534663
- ^ "Well-known paedophile Dennis Ferguson hounded from Ipswich". PM (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 2 February 2005. http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2005/s1294614.htm. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
- ^ http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2008/07/09/13449_gold-coast-top-story.html
- ^ "Convicted pedophile moved from Queensland home". The Sydney Morning Herald. 4 July 2008. http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/convicted-pedophile-moved-from-home/2008/07/04/1214950988344.html. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
- ^ http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/inside-the-mind-of-evil-predator-convicted-paedophile-dennis-ferguson/story-e6freuy9-1225776838465
- ^ http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/child-sex-fiend-dennis-ferguson-promises-to-return/story-e6freuy9-1225789557953
- ^ Kontominas, Bellinda (20 January 2010). "Ferguson wins AVO against neighbour". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/national/ferguson-wins-avo-against-neighbour-20100119-mj6r.html.
- ^ a b http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/15/2954284.htm
- ^ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/watching-the-kids-swim-with-dennis-ferguson/
- ^ a b Walters, Adam; Dale, Amy; Kleinig, Xanthe (16 September 2009). "Convicted paedophile Dennis Ferguson sold kids' toys for charity". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.news.com.au/national/convicted-paedophile-dennis-ferguson-sold-kids-toys-for-charity/story-e6frfkvr-1225774229175.
- ^ "Australia suspends family initiative after paedophiles reunited". AsiaOne. 22 September 2009. http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Crime/Story/A1Story20090922-169310.html. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
- ^ "Rees finds way to evict pedophile". The Sydney Morning Herald. 23 September 2009. http://www.smh.com.au/national/rees-finds-way-to-evict-pedophile-20090922-g0m7.html. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
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- Australian people convicted of child sexual abuse
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