Rapist to be supervised

Man serves 22 years behind bars for assaults

A SERIAL rapist convicted of three heinous assaults on women in Dalby and Toowoomba has been released back into the community after serving 22 years behind bars for his brutal crimes.

After ordering his release following the completion of his prison sentence, a judge has ruled that Jason Charles Buckley must be subject to a supervision order for another seven years.

Buckley was convicted in September 2003 of five counts of rape following three vicious attacks on women in 1999 and 2000.

The now 50-year-old committed two of the rapes on a 20-year-old woman who was walking home alone when, about 4am, he grabbed her from behind, forced her to the ground and raped her.

The second series of assaults were committed in Toowoomba when Buckley broke into a 67-year-old woman’s home and attacked her while she slept, attempting to sodomise her before dragging her into the backyard of the house and raping her.

The third set of offences involved a 15-year-old victim who he chased and knocked to the ground in Queens Park in Toowoomba, breaking her leg, where she was repeatedly raped.

After his arrest on April 27, 2000, Buckley pleaded guilty to the charges in District Court and was handed an indefinite prison sentence, however after an appeal that reached the High Court the sentence was set aside, with concurrent 22 year imprisonments imposed.

In Brisbane Supreme Court on Wednesday Chief Justice Helen Bowskill said a supervision order was necessary to “ameliorate, to an acceptable level, the risk posed” by Buckley reoffending.

“The making of a supervision order is not about trying to achieve a guarantee that the risk posed by the respondent will not eventuate,” Chief Justice Bowskill said.

“That would not be possible. If that was the aim, supervision orders would never be made.”

Three psychiatrists gave evidence earlier this year that Buckley posed a “high risk of sexual reoffending” if he was released into the community unsupervised, but that risk was reduced to “moderate” if he were to comply with the supervision order.

Chief Justice Bowskill ordered that Buckley be supervised for until 2029.