A notorious paedophile has been thrown back in jail less than two days after his controversial release – after reportedly being caught in possession of images of children.
Bradley Pen Dragon, 62, has spent more than half his behind bars for a string of crimes, including holding a knife to a woman while she was putting her child in their car.Â
Most recently he has been serving time in a West Australian correctional facility for looking up child abuse material on the internet, with a Supreme Court ruling he would be released subject to 60 strict rules.
He was released on Tuesday, however he has already been thrown back into custody for allegedly possessing images of children.
Bradley Pen Dragon has been thrown back behind bars less than two days after controversially being released – after reportedly being caught in possession of images of childreÂ
Dragon, who spent 13 years in a Thailand jail for sexually assaulting a girl, is now facing renewed time in custody, the West Australian reported.Â
He had a strict set of rules he had to follow upon his release, and it appears within two days he has already broken the terms, with the paedophile unable to possess any pictures, drawings or sketches of children.Â
Premier Mark McGowan said on Thursday he has no room for error.
‘He’s the sort of person that we will crack down on immediately,’ the Premier said
‘If he breaches, a tonne of bricks will come down on him.’Â
Bradley Pendragon, 58, (pictured) previously served 13 years in a Thai jail for sexually abusing children
The WA District Court heard Dragon spent almost five hours on a public computer at a backpacker hostel in August of 2017.
Among the terms he searched online were ‘pre-teen porn’ and ‘child incest’. When questioned by police, Dragon denied searching the sickening material.
‘These things just keep popping up when I use the internet,’ he told officers at the time.
Judge Hylton Quail didn’t accept Dragon’s explanation for his depraved behaviour, before going onto describe the offending as ‘brazen.’Â Â
‘Some of the material, albeit animated, … is horrifying,’ he said.
He was deported to New South Wales before moving to Perth, where Dragon continued to offend.Â
The convicted paedophile was sentenced to five years behind bars for holding a knife to a mother, before he was locked up again for looking up the child abuse material just two days after being released.
He used a computer at a Northbridge backpacker hostel to access the twisted imagery.
Dragon has been diagnosed with ‘paedophilic disorder’ of the non-exclusive type.
He previously told a psychiatrist that ‘much of the society doesn’t agree with laws relating to the restriction of access to pornographic material about children or sexual contact with children, and much like homosexual relationships, this may be something which is legalised in the future’.Â
The 62-year-old had been waiting for a Supreme Court decision on his release since completing his time in December, 2021.
Dragon used a computer at a Northbridge backpacker hostel to access the twisted imagery
They were deciding whether Dragon is still considered ‘high risk and serious offender’, with Justice Larissa Strk saying he could be released under a strict set of 62 conditions.
Dragon was placed under a 10-year supervision order that includes him being electronically monitored, lives at a specified address and subject to a curfew.Â
He also had to provide verbal or written accounts of all of his movements and banned from having any contact with a child under the age of 18 unless approved.
Councilling, including anti-libidinal treatment, was also agreed upon, however it appears Dragon has already broken the agreement and could face more jail time.
Bradley Dragon (pictured) has reportedly been jailed again for possession images of childrenÂ
Dragon previously told the court he would be willing to undergo physical castration, but a phyciatrist insisted there was no clinic in Australia who would offer such an operation.
WA’s Shadow Treasurer and spokesman Steve Thomas said prior to Dragon’s release that the decision ‘absolutely worrying’ and the government should be taking a harder stance on repeat offenders. Â
‘I think we’ve developed to a stage where we’re quite soft on law and order issues these days, and it’s time for a far bigger focus on holding people responsible for their behaviour,’ he said.
‘I absolutely believe that a tougher on crime approach and going back to making the punishment fit the crime is where we want to see this government and this society go.’
