Stephen Neil White: Serial rapist who tried to murder a five-year-old girl by smashing her head with a rock is set to walk free from prison with $800,000 in NDIS support
A violent rapist who sexually assaulted and tried to murder a five-year-old girl will be released from prison with $800,000 in NDIS support after more than 20 years behind bars.
Stephen Neil White, 58, smashed a rock into the child’s skull, tried to strangle her and raped her after kidnapping the girl from a tent in the Western Australian town of Kununurra in 2001.
He was sentenced to 13 years in prison with the possibility of parole, which was later increased on appeal to 17 years, with an additional 16 months for assaulting a woman in the tent.
White has been in custody since serving his sentence under the Dangerous Sexual Offenders Act, but that will end next month after the High Court revoked his continued detention on Monday.
Smith will be placed on community supervision for three years, with $807,189 in NDIS support for one year, including 24-hour care for men only.
White sexually assaulted a five-year-old girl and tried to kill her by smashing a rock into her skull (stock image)
The order comes with more than 60 conditions, including a curfew, a ban on drinking and viewing pornography, and no interaction with children, women or social media unless given permission.
The court found that White had significant cognitive impairment and chronic mental health problems, and that there was “very clear medical evidence” that he was at high risk of serious sexual offending unless restricted.
“Respondent’s recidivism would be both predatory and opportunistic against predominantly vulnerable women of varying ages, and would not involve much planning or nurturing,” Judge Michael Lundberg wrote in his opinion.
White’s long criminal career began when he indecently assaulted a girl under the age of 16 in 1983.
A year later, he raped a 73-year-old woman in her home in South Australia and tried to rape another woman while on bail.
He was sentenced to twelve years in prison, of which he was eligible for parole after eight years.
White, who has an acquired brain injury and an IQ of 62, has spent less than 25 percent of his adult life in the community.
He also has a history of intravenous amphetamine, heroin and marijuana use and has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and antisocial personality disorders.
A psychiatrist concluded that White was highly institutionalized and unable to form meaningful relationships. He is also very impulsive due to his frontal lobe dysfunction.
It was determined that his current mental state would be stable and would improve with the use of medication, but this was compromised when he was released from prison.