A convicted Queensland rapist on supervised release from prison has overturned a ban on him engaging female disability support staff and having sex workers visit his home.
The Brisbane Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Queensland Corrective Services denied Leon Frederick Wallace natural justice and his human rights by severely restricting who could visit his residence out of concern he might commit offences against disability workers.
Leon Frederick Wallace was released from full-time custody in 2015 after serving 13 years’ imprisonment for four counts of rape and 10 years for attempted murder.
Psychiatrists found Wallace had a moderate to high risk of future sexual reoffending and was placed under a supervision order, meaning he was required to follow conditions set by Corrective Services after release.
Wallace had been living at a residential property with National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) support workers attending since 2019 to assist with his cooking, cleaning and shopping due to his schizophrenia.
In 2021, Corrective Services staff found material on Wallace’s mobile phone that suggested he had a “sexual preoccupation” with his disability support workers through seeking out pornography and sex workers who resembled NDIS staff.
Corrective Services suspected Wallace was “blurring the lines” between the role of disability staff and sex workers he had previously hired to visit his residence.
On March 19, Corrective Services determined that Wallace’s behaviour was not illegal nor a breach of his supervision order but they felt the situation had reached a “tipping point”.
Two days later, Wallace was given new directions that he could only hire male NDIS workers, could not have sex workers attend his residence and he must seek approval for all visitors, including family members.
Wallace was told he would be returned to a Corrective Services location if he did not follow the new directions, imposed to support his “mental health stability” and prevent opportunistic or impulsive reoffending.
Wallace later sued the High Risk Offender Management Unit operations manager and the chief executive of Corrective Services.
Following two hearings in March this year, Justice Peter Callaghan dismissed all the new directions imposed on Wallace and ordered Corrective Services pay costs.
Justice Callaghan found the direction to limit Wallace’s interaction with female disability workers was “justified” as a protective measure but infringed his human right to freedom of association.
Justice Callaghan also found that Corrective Services had relied on “inadequate” psychiatric opinions as grounds to place the restrictions on Wallace, which also went too far in banning male family members from visiting.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
Australian Associated Press