Notorious ‘North Shore Rapist’ Graham James Kay will remain in the community

A notorious Sydney rapist will be placed under 24-hour electronic monitoring amid fears he is at “high risk of re-offending”, a court has been told.

Graham James Kay, also known as the ‘North Shore Rapist’, was on Thursday handed a lengthy list of control measures for the next three years after his release from prison.

Kay was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2000 for a series of terrifying sexual attacks on young women and girls over a 12-month period on Sydney’s Lower North Shore.

During the attacks, which took place in 1995 and 1996 respectively, he threatened his victims with a knife, closed their mouths and tied their hands.

He was released on probation in February 2015, but in April 2018 he ignored a long-term supervision order, which imposed strict conditions on Kay to protect the community. He then concealed an intimate relationship.

Later that month, he offended again when he kissed a 16-year-old female supermarket employee.

The court was told the girl described the kiss on the cheek as “drooly” and that she wiped her cheek vigorously after the unwanted kiss.

He was convicted and given a 15-month conditional release, to be served in the community.

In January 2022, Kay was arrested again after stalking a young woman and then assaulting her in her apartment complex.

He was sentenced to two years in prison for sexual contact without consent and stalking/intimidation with the intent to cause fear of physical violence.

However, he was given an additional six months’ sentence after the prosecution appealed the severity of his prison sentence.

The court was told Kay chased his victim through a shopping centre and then from Sydney’s CBD to Haymarket, where he followed her to her apartment building and sexually assaulted her.

When the victim tried to exit the elevator, Kay reached under her dress and grabbed her vagina for several seconds, causing her to scream before fleeing.

He was released in September last year.

Last month, the court lifted an order to keep Kay’s name secret, which was imposed by a judge in 2020 after the rapist received threats and lost his job and housing.

After his release, the state wanted to impose a series of supervision conditions on him, through an enhanced supervision order (ESO), to keep a close eye on him.

Kay did not object to ESO. He did object to the proposed condition that he wear an electronic monitoring bracelet for the next three years.

He requested that he only have to wear the electronic monitor for 18 months.

The court was told that Kay was at ‘high risk of reoffending’, according to a risk assessment report.

On Thursday, High Court Judge Hament Dhanji ordered Kay to be subject to a three-year ESO, which will include requiring him to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet.

Judge Dhanji noted that Kay had a history of following and stalking his victims and said his movements could be monitored by electronic surveillance.

“Although electronic monitoring has not succeeded in preventing the suspect from committing criminal offences in 2022, I do not want to rule out that it will have a deterrent effect in the future,” the judge said in his verdict published on Thursday.

The ESO’s 36 conditions stipulate that Kay must report to a department head, provide a schedule of his movements if requested, and reside at an approved address.

He is not allowed to leave NSW, surrender his passport or have contact with anyone under the age of 18.

He is not allowed to hire sex workers without prior permission from a social worker and must also inform the authorities if he enters into a sexual relationship or friendship with a woman.