One of Australia’s worst child sex offenders Brian Keith Jones, known as ‘Mr Baldy’, has narrowly avoided his fourth jail sentence after child porn videos and pictures were found in his backpack.
Despite being the owner of the backpack in question ‘Mr Baldy’ denied to police knowledge of a secret compartment full of child porn photos and videos on a memory card – The Victorian Magistrate’s Court heard.
The backpack was found in the possession of ‘Mr Baldy’s’ fellow sex pest Robert Paul Mackenzie who has been convicted for his suicidal threats in exchange for underage nudity from teenage girls.
One of Australia’s worst child sex offenders Brian Keith Jones, known as ‘Mr Baldy, has narrowly avoided his fourth jail sentence after child porn videos and pictures were found in his backpack
‘Mr Baldy’, now 70, was excused from giving evidence in the Magistrate’s Court on Friday after Mackenzie conceded his denial of knowledge was truthful.
Mackenzie initially inferred the memory card with child pornography on it was already in the backpack before he received it.
The blame was then shifted to a third Victorian sexual predator Robert Mason, who allegedly gave the memory card to Mackenzie told the Herald Sun.
Mackenzie’s argument was unsuccessful and he was sentenced to nine months behind bars charged with possessing child exploitation material.
Some details from inside Friday’s courtroom hearing cannot be revealed for legal reasons.
‘Mr Baldy’, now 70, was excused from giving evidence in the Magistrate’s Court on Friday after Mackenzie conceded his denial of knowledge was truthful
Mackenzie has been in police sights since his history of preying teenage girls online and harboring child pornography began in 2009.
‘Mr Baldy’ got his nickname for his practice of shaving his victims’ heads as well as forcing his victims to wear make-up and female clothing during his attacks.
Between 1979 and 1980 he sexually assaulted six boys between the ages of four and seven and pleaded guilty to 18 charges.
After an eight year sentence, ‘Mr Baldy’ was released despite a known plot documented on his tapes and distributed to his paedophile friends outside of jail: ‘I know what my idea would be, is getting a young … woman who may have two little children or something like that, only real bubbies or something, and put her into slavery and make her watch as the children are brought up as our own.’
Between 1979 and 1980 ‘Mr Baldy’ sexually assaulted six boys between the ages of four and seven and pleaded guilty to 18 charges and was again convicted in 1992
‘Mr Baldy’ was released from Ararat Prison in July, 2005 and a public out-cry began
The tapes were seized by authorities but relapse was not far for the paedophile who within days began re offending and sexually assaulted the sons of a paedophile he met in jail aged six and nine.
‘Mr Baldy’ was again convicted in 1992 and sentenced to 12 years for aggravated rape, sexual penetration of a child under 10 and aggravated indecent assaults.
The Court of Appeal increased his sentence to 14 years with a minimum of 12 but ‘Mr Baldy’ was released from Ararat Prison in July, 2005 and a public out-cry began.
The Serious Sex Offenders Monitoring Act 2005 (VIC) was created for the unique case of Baldy’s parole and integration back into the Victorian community of Ascot Vale – the act has since been repealed.
He was slammed with strict parole conditions that included restrictions on his movements, an electronic tag and was banned from using the internet.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) together with the Victoria Police are tackling the issue of child pornography rigorously
The public outcry saw the convicted man be moved to a cottage on the Ararat prison grounds when it was revealed the Ascot Vale house was near a primary school and a place where young children met.
Melinda Richards, lawyer for resident of Ascot Vale, Margaret Simons said: ‘Had the media not found out Mr Jones was living there … he may still be living next door to children of school age.’
Victoria’s Department of Justice told a tribunal it would not be in the public interest to explain why one of Melbourne’s most notorious sex offenders was housed near a primary school after his release from jail for child sex offences.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) together with the Victoria Police are tackling the issue of child pornography rigorously.
Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said: ‘Child exploitation images and online child sexual offences are some of the fastest growing crimes across the world,’
‘This is fueled by rapidly advancing technology and new social media platforms where the ability for offenders to create, share and consume this material grows every day,’
‘Offenders are actively taking steps to ensure they are not caught and police need to be able to keep up.’