Calls for death penalty after shocking child sex abuse case

• By Avi Yemini

Sign up for Rebel News Australia!

Get updates on Rebel News coverage in Australia delivered straight to your inbox so you never miss a story!

Sign Up

REBEL STORE AUSTRALIA

Get Rebel News Australia merchandise! All our products are printed in and fulfilled from Queensland.

SHOP NOW

Liberal National Party Senator Matt Canavan has called for the introduction of the death penalty after a former Gold Coast childcare worker was charged with horrific sex offences against children.

“Life imprisonment seems too soft a penalty for a crime this heinous,” he said.

“We really should consider the death penalty for people this that have ruined so many other lives.”

Earlier this week a man, aged 45, was charged with 1,623 offences against 91 girls under the age of 10.

Canavan said there was not currently a punishment on the law books in Australia severe enough to deal with such an offender.

“Surely we don't have a penalty on the books strong enough for this heinous individual,” he said.

“I was just absolutely shocked at the vileness and evilness of this conduct and also just the scale of it.

“This is so bad there has to be in my mind something even stronger than life imprisonment.”

Canavan has called for an inquiry into how the alleged perpetrator was able to get away with abuse on such a massive scale for so long.

“There has to be a proper inquiry here about how information was shared, why this couldn't have been stopped earlier and how can we make sure that this kind of thing doesn't happen again,” he said.

2GB radio host Ben Fordham has also argued that the case is a strong argument for the introduction of capital punishment.

“We don't have the death penalty in Australia but would anyone seriously argue against it in the case of this paedophile pig?” he said.

“He has destroyed hundreds of lives and if my child was one of the victims, I'd want him dead.”

NSW Assistant Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald described the case as “one of the most horrific child abuse cases he had seen in his 40-year career”.

The man, who has spent the past 12 months behind bars, is scheduled to appear for mention in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on August 21.