Victims of convicted Canberra child molester and sex offender Cameron Tully have expressed their grave concern of the risks posed to the community by the 47-year-old's release from prison on parole.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
One of Tully's victims, who was a child at the time of the offences, said she and another victim, who is too scared to come forward but shares her views, were appalled that the sex offender had managed to secure parole this week so soon after his eligibility.
In 2016, Tully was sentenced to serve 12 years behind bars for his multiple offences in one of the most brazen cases of child molestation to be brought before the ACT courts in recent years. Tully was given a non-parole period of seven years and three months, backdated to begin in June 2014.
He had pleaded not guilty to all charges and consistently maintained his innocence throughout his trial.
Married with five children, Tully was found guilty and convicted on 18 child sex offences.
In his pre-sentencing remarks, Justice John Burns said that Tully had demonstrated no remorse for his actions.
"Your offences were brazen, revealing an arrogant belief that your victims would not report your crimes or that, if they did, they would not be believed," Justice Burns told the court. By the offender admitting no remorse, he said Tully was "not entitled to any leniency for remorse".
Furthermore, Justice Burns said that Tully's decision "to maintain pleas of not guilty has deprived you [Tully] of the leniency that would have been shown to you had you entered pleas of guilty".
Documentation provided to The Canberra Times revealed that Tully had not engaged in "recommended corrective service interventions" at the AMC. However, he had undertaken "offence specific interventions provided by an external provider" while in custody.
One of the victims, who prefers to remain anonymous, said she was distressed to hear that Tully qualified for early release when clearly he still believed he was not guilty of the offences, and she consequently feared for the safety of women and children in the Canberra community.
"This is a man who has no remorse for the terrible things he did to young girls [at the time of sentencing], and has never admitted his guilt and yet managed to convince the parole board that he was suitable for release back into the community," she said.
"The community should be appalled by this decision."
In his book Here, There are Dragons by national security offender Witness J, Tully was described as a "delegate" for the sex offenders' wing, given responsibility by the guards to assist new inmates in their prison orientation. The ACT Sentence Administration Board has been contacted for comment.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram