Overview
- The Supreme Court is weighing a state application to declare 81‑year‑old Dennis McKenna a High Risk Serious Offender and will hand down its decision on November 4, weeks before his sentence ends on November 17.
- Victims and a whistleblower have flagged a police complaint from about 2004–05 that was not included in expert reports, and Attorney‑General Tony Buti confirmed the State Solicitor’s Office has been given that information for consideration.
- Two court‑commissioned psychiatrists told the court McKenna poses a risk of specific sexual offences against teenage boys while other experts point to his advanced age and long gaps between convictions as reasons the risk may be lower.
- State prosecutors say McKenna’s plans to volunteer and attend church would expose him to children unless the court imposes exclusion zones, supervision and monitoring, and they cited his social isolation and minimising of past abuse as added concerns.
- If the court makes a High Risk Serious Offender declaration it can order either continuing detention or long‑term restrictive supervision; the ruling will shape community protections, victim exclusion zones, and whether experts must revise risk assessments.