ATTORNEY General Brad Hazzard is weighing in to the debate around granting bail to an admitted child sex offender from Tathra.
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Maurice Van Ryn, 59, a former CEO of Bega Cheese, on Tuesday pleaded guilty to a string of child sex offences that took place between 2006 and 2014.
His name has previously been suppressed by an interim court order, but that order was lifted by Magistrate Doug Dick on Thursday.
Van Ryn is due to be sentenced in February, but on Tuesday in Bega Local Court, his existing bail conditions were continued despite the guilty plea and a detention application lodged by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Mr Hazzard, who is also the NSW Minister for Justice, released a statement on Thursday morning urging an urgent review of the decision to grant bail to 59-year-old Maurice Van Ryn from Tathra, who on Tuesday pleaded guilty to multiple charges involving sexual and indecent assaults on children.
“Having read some of the alleged facts I am extremely concerned about the decision to grant bail,” Mr Hazzard said.
“I have contacted the Director of Public Prosecutions and asked the DPP to urgently review the circumstances and consider lodging an appeal against the granting of bail.”
A TATHRA man charged with a string of child sex offences has pleaded guilty and is due to be sentenced in February.
Maurice Van Ryn, 59, was arrested in Bega in September after six males raised separate allegations in relation to sexual abuse and indecent assault.
The males were all aged between eight and 16 when the incidents took place at Tathra between 2006 and 2014.
Van Ryn appeared in Bega Local Court on Tuesday on 23 separate matters.
The court heard 12 of those charges had been replaced by the more serious charge of "persistent sexual abuse of a child.
The new charge – under Section 66EA of the NSW Crimes Act – carries a maximum 25 years’ imprisonment.
Van Ryn entered a guilty plea to all charges.
He was previously granted bail with strict conditions.
However, in light of the guilty plea, the Director of Public Prosecutions made an application for detention, saying there was “an unacceptable risk for this person to remain at liberty”.
The DPP highlighted that the man was “not without the means to get away from jurisdiction” and that “now he’s admitted his guilt to the court, the thought of likely incarceration will weigh heavily on him”.
Magistrate Doug Dick refused the detention application, meaning the current bail conditions will continue as well as be applied to the fresh charge.
However, he amended the reporting obligations of the bail conditions, increasing the number of days Van Ryn has to report to Merimbula Police Station from three days a week to five.
He said the bail conditions already in place were stringent, including Van Ryn surrendering his passport, being banned from coming within a 5km radius of Tathra, not being allowed to contact any of the alleged victims, and staying with family members away from Tathra in addition to the reporting to police daily from Monday to Friday.
Magistrate Dick committed Van Ryn on all indictable offences to the District Court for sentencing on February 2, 2015.
