Australia’s youngest murderer is allegedly caught approaching mothers and their young daughters on a beach just weeks after his release sparked concerns for public safety

Australia's youngest-ever murderer to kill a three-year-old girl is said to have approached young girls on a public beach just weeks after his release.

SLD, a sexual psychopath who murdered toddler Courtney Morley-Clarke when he was 13, is said to have approached mothers on a Wollongong beach with their young daughters and said: 'Hi, I've just got out of prison. Do you come here often?'

The now 36-year-old has now been released on bail to appear in court next year.

SLD, who was released from prison in August despite experts warning he would commit more violent sex crimes, is accused of failing to comply with an order 'not to associate with children'.

In 2001, SLD murdered Courtney after walking across the road from his adoptive home and stabbing her through the heart as she slept in her home in Point Clare on the NSW Central Coast.

Courtney's remains, clad only in a diaper, were found along a nearby embankment after the SLD led police to the scene of the crime and were happy to take credit for the atrocity. The teenager was sentenced to twenty years behind bars.

Twenty years after one of the most shocking cases in Australian history, a judge on August 25 made it 'difficult' to allow SLD to walk out of prison and live in the community under an Extended Supervision Order (ESO).

This is despite assessments from psychiatrists who raised concerns about the safety of women around SLD after someone noted that the killer was preoccupied with sex and fixated on losing his virginity immediately after his release.

On October 25, SLD went to Bulli Beach in Wollongong with an ESO supervisor and was observed by an off-duty prison officer who, remarkably, was also there at the time and noticed his electronic monitoring anklet.

The officer allegedly observed SLD approach a woman with a young girl, and then approach another mother washing a baby at the beach showers.

Both women picked up their children and walked away from SLD. The officer then witnessed an encounter at the Bulli Beach cafe between SLD and a woman feeding a baby.

After allegedly telling the woman: 'I just got out of jail. Do you come here often?' he then said, “I've only been here twice.”

The officer confronted SLD and said, “I observed you approach three separate women with their children and attempt to speak to them. You know you can't do that.'

Police arrived and arrested SLD, who told Wollongong Local Court the next day that the encounters were 'incidental'.

When Magistrate Darryl Pearce refused him bail on the grounds that the SLD had breached his SEO because 'he must have been aware that there were children', the convicted killer exploded.

“This is nonsense,” SLD said.

“You're actually calling me a pedophile, judge… If I get beaten in jail I'm going to sue your dog, if I get beaten you're fucked.”

On December 6, SLD was again refused bail to appear in Wollongong Local Court on February 6, 2024.

He was also recently given a 12-month community order for three offenses which breached his ESO.

This involved assaulting another prisoner housed in a Corrective Services offender support unit at the Long Bay prison complex, for bleeding on another ex-prisoner after cutting his own wrists and for failing to show up for a psychiatrist.

It is believed that SLD is currently housed at the Sex Offender Unit in Long Bay.

His sentence expired in 2021, but he was deemed too dangerous to be released until a court-appointed expert in August favored an ESO over more prison time, saying there was little to no chance of SLD rehabilitation in the prison.

Victims' rights activist Howard Brown said the latest episode of the SLD's brief foray outside prison walls confirmed its “inability to successfully reintegrate into the community.”

“Unfortunately he is beyond saving,” Mr Brown said.

'It must also be made very clear that the high-risk offender legislation has been introduced to protect the community.'

Successive courts and correctional authorities have taken into account SLD's history of a troubled childhood during which he was abused by his drug-addicted mother before entering the foster system as a two-year-old.

He was adopted at the age of four by a family in Point Clare, but despite his new environment the boy remained 'disturbed'.

By the time he reached his teens, a psychiatrist was convinced he would never become a functioning social adult.

In sentencing the SLD for Courtey's murder, Judge James Wood looked at the British case of toddler James Bulger who was tortured and murdered by two 10-year-old boys.

SLD was diagnosed as a severe personality disorder with antisocial and psychopathic features.

His lack of empathy is further driven by an attitude of self-interest and equality.

In August, the NSW Supreme Court heard that SLD was obsessed with sexual fantasies, and his intense desire combined with his antisocial condition could cause him to 'act without remorse'.

Judge Stephen Campbell ruled that SLD was 'difficult to offend in a circumstance where his will is denied' and 'his offending may involve the use of a weapon', which has led to fears for the safety of women around him.

Under the ESO, the SLD was required to wear a GPS ankle bracelet monitor and Judge Campbell admitted it would be 'extremely challenging' to keep him under the order.

In his first months living in the Long Bay Support Unit, SLD was caught violating his restrictions by accessing WhatsApp, YouTube and the link-up app Tagged.

When confronted about his misconduct, he told the officer, “Listen ma'am, I will choose which conditions to meet and which are not important.”