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One of Australia’s most infamous criminals, who gained notoriety after murdering a preschool child at just 13, is currently challenging a conviction related to an incident where he reportedly approached a mother and her partially clothed child.
The court heard that since his release from prison, the man has persistently sought out women for romantic relationships. This behavior occurs despite his diagnosis of a severe personality disorder and a significant level of institutionalization, factors that experts warn could heighten his risk of reoffending.
Following the completion of his original sentence, he was placed under an extended supervision order. This order prohibits him from any contact with children due to the high likelihood of him committing either violent or sexual offenses.
He was sentenced to 18 months in prison for violating this order, a sentence that concluded in April.
Now aged 39, SLD appeared before the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal on Wednesday, seeking to overturn his conviction. His argument centers on the claim that the original ruling mistakenly determined that he had been in association with a child.
He had approached the mother while she was dressing her toddler near an outdoor shower at Bulli Beach and asked her how to turn the foot tap on, the court was told.
The killer then proceeded to ask the woman a series of questions about her son, including commenting on his physical appearance.
“Is dad around?” he asked the mother.
When she responded in the affirmative, SLD commented “that’s good, I guess” and wandered off.
There is no evidence of any attempt to engage with the toddler at all during the exchange, even through non-verbal gestures, the killer’s lawyer Nicholas Broadbent SC said.
“The conversation was at no stage directed towards the child and at no stage is there any evidence of there being any interaction with the child, physical or otherwise,” he said.
Although the toddler was the subject of the conversation, Mr Broadbent contended the evidence suggested he may have intended to ask the woman out on a date.
The court was told SLD had frequently approached women and often asked them out on dates, something which was allowed under the conditions of his release and sanctioned by supervising authorities.
Mr Broadbent argued the purpose of conditions such as those placed on SLD are to protect the community, but also to allow a person who has completed their sentence to engage with and reintegrate into society.
The child killer’s mere proximity to the toddler was not enough to satisfy the association condition of the supervision order, the barrister said.
Crown prosecutor Stephanie Lind argued that given the conditions were intended to protect children they should be understood to exclude SLD from intentionally approaching a child regardless of whether they were alone or in company.
She argued that if you were standing with two people, but only talking to one, you would still be considered to be with that other person.
Ms Lind also noted SLD was identified in the original judgment as having a severe personality disorder and high level of institutionalisation which placed him at a heightened risk of reoffending.
SLD appeared to pay close attention to the proceedings as he watched from a custody cell via audio-visual link.
He was released from jail in March 2025 only to be arrested the following month on allegations he was in possession of child-abuse material.
He only recently offered a motive for killing Courtney: to exact revenge for purported bullying by her brother.
Judgment in the appeal has been reserved for a later date.
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