Outspoken commentator Prue MacSween has criticised the decision to release a man who murdered a teenage girl and later tried to rape a woman at knifepoint, just months after he was last released into the community. There are fears that no woman will be safe.
Terrence John Leary, a 57-year-old medium to high risk killer, will soon be released from prison for the second time, following a decision by the New South Wales State Parole Authority last Thursday.
Leary was sentenced to 24 years in prison for the 1990 murder of 17-year-old Vanessa Hoson.
He forced his way into her family’s home in Kenthurst, Sydney’s northwest, and beat her to death with a hammer after the teenager refused to have sex with him.
Leary was granted early release after serving 22 years in prison.
Just 10 months after his release, he violently attacked a woman, dragging her behind a bus stop in an attempted rape.
The 30-year-old Thai woman had just finished babysitting in North Sydney on June 19, 2013 and was listening to music at a bus stop in Hunters Hill.
In an “explosive and savage” attack, Leary grabbed her by the neck, dragged her behind a bus stop, punched her in the face, ripped her jeans so hard her belt snapped, and stabbed her in the neck while attempting to rape her. A passerby intervened and called police.
Vanessa Hoson (pictured) was only 17 in 1990 when Terrence John Leary entered her family’s home and murdered her because she refused to have sex with him
Terrence John Leary (pictured) violently attacked and attempted to rape a woman while he was last on probation
The young woman survived and Leary was sentenced to an additional 15 years in prison for the attack and attempted rape.
Leary, who served 11 years in prison for the brazen 2013 attack, is set to be released on September 18, nearly four years before his sentence would have ended.
The parole board granted him release under the highest level of supervision after concluding it was “inevitable” that he would eventually return to society, possibly without supervision, once his full sentence was completed.
Leary is expected to be released on September 18.
Ms MacSween said the decision showed a failure to ensure the safety of Australians.
“It shows how inadequate our justice system is and how it is failing our community that he is now free to rape other women. No woman will be safe walking the streets,” she told Daily Mail Australia.
“That bastard should be chemically castrated as far as I’m concerned. How many times do you have to forgive these people and give them another chance, only for these things to happen again.
“He needs to be locked up and the key thrown away. These people don’t deserve to have the same freedoms as the rest of society.”
Ms MacSween added that there was no chance that Australians would feel comfortable with the Parole Board’s decision.
Commentator Prue MacSween (pictured) said the convicted murderer should be ‘chemically castrated’ and called the NSW justice system ‘inadequate’
“Women won’t sleep so peacefully knowing this mongrel is running free,” she said.
She asked whether the parole board had considered whether their relatives could be the next victims.
Vanessa Hoson’s devastated family has long fought to keep Leary locked up, fearing he could strike again if released.
They have campaigned tirelessly against his release for years.
Vanessa’s sister Fiona Walker warned in a letter to the board that “it will happen again”.
In her petition, she quoted the judge who last sentenced him, who said that “he poses a continuing danger to society” and that “it cannot be said that he has any realistic prospects of rehabilitation.”
“There is no point in continuing to fight for the community, but we know someone else will go through the same thing as us,” Walker told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“It’s just disappointing that someone who poses a medium to high risk of crime is out in the community and posing a danger to more young girls.
“He would be better off dying in prison. That would solve all the problems,” Walker said.
However, the presiding judge, Judge Geoffrey Bellew, found that an earlier release was eligible for conditional release and that this was the safest way for Leary’s reintegration.
“The alternative is to keep the offender in custody and release him at a later date, either with a shorter period of parole or at the end of his sentence without any period of parole,” he said.
‘The perpetrator will be released at some point. That is inevitable.’
Vanessa Hoson’s sister, Fiona Walker (pictured), has long fought to keep Leary behind bars
Leary is considered a serious sex offender and will be electronically monitored while in a Corrective Services NSW supported facility as part of his conditional release conditions.
In addition to a curfew and other conditions, Leary’s mental health is also being monitored.
Leary was denied parole six times for the 1990 murder before finally being released.
Ms Walker argued that Leary should be declared a repeat offender and held on a continued detention order.
The authority confirmed that it had taken into account expert advice from the Serious Offenders Review Council (SORC), which recommended conditional release as appropriate.
“The offender has successfully completed programs to address his crimes, including a sex offender program,” the report said.
In addition to the normal conditions for conditional release, a number of other rules were imposed. For example, the suspect was not allowed to have contact with the victim or her family, was not allowed to visit certain municipal departments and was not allowed to participate in psychological sessions.
Judge Bellew denied that Leary would be released on September 18.
“The reality is different and the suggestion that he will walk free is nothing more than a misunderstanding of the process,” he said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
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