News

Gang rapist set ‘to be released’

GANG rapist Mohammed Skaf will be released from prison early next month.

One of 14 young men involved in a string of terrifying gang rapes in the Bankstown area in 2000, he was sentenced in January 2001 to almost 23 years with his sentence expiring in January 2024. The gang was led by Bilal Skaf, who is not eligible for parole until 2033.
The State Parole Authority (SPA) said it had no legislative power to keep Skaf in prison beyond his sentence and his inevitable release must be supervised.
It says freeing Skaf at the end of his full 23-year sentence without extensive monitoring and conditions, would pose an unacceptable risk.
The SPA determined that intensive supervision for the last two years and two months of his parole period was the safest pathway for reintegration and the only sensible option.
SPA Chairman David Frearson SC says this is the only opportunity to supervise a safe transition into the community in the small window of time that they have left.
“Release without structure or supervision in place makes little sense for community protection,” he said.
Skaf will be released from custody between October 1 and 8.
The Authority acknowledges the distress the parole decision may cause his victims and the wider community and “careful consideration has been given to the difficult task of reintegrating him into the community”.
Skaf’s parole conditions will include Mandatory Electronic Monitoring with daily schedules; compliance with ongoing psychological intervention; a ban on any form of contact with his victims; a ban on contact with any co-offenders; and exclusion zone orders for the LGAs of Liverpool, Fairfield, Blacktown and Parramatta.
Before making its decision, the SPA considered the unanimous expert advice of the Serious Offenders Review Council, Community Corrections and the latest submission on behalf of the State.
The Serious Offenders Review Council said “further time in custody would not appear to be useful in relation to his re-integration”.