One of South Australia's most notorious criminals, the former magistrate Peter Liddy, has been released into the community after spending two and a half decades behind bars. His return to freedom, however, comes heavily curtailed by restrictions, as a court still has to decide whether he should be sent back to jail indefinitely.
Liddy, who is now 82 years old, left the Adelaide Remand Centre having served his full 25-year sentence. Described as frail and unrepentant, he remained silent as he walked out, saying nothing beyond a brief excuse me, taking his first steps of freedom after a quarter of a century in custody.
He had been jailed in 2001, following a career of 25 years as a magistrate, for the sexual abuse of four children. The offences were committed in the mid-1980s, when Liddy carried out the abuse while he was volunteering at the Brighton Surf Life Saving Club, a position that placed him in contact with young people.
An advocate for his victims described the impact of the latest development, saying those affected were shocked by the news. According to the advocate, they never thought he would be the kind of person who would ever be released, adding that it was not a happy day for the victim survivors and that it marked a very dark day in South Australia.
Liddy's current release conditions are strict. They include electronic monitoring and restricted internet access, and he is banned from contacting children and from being within 50 metres of any public playground, school or kindergarten, measures intended to limit his movements and contact while his situation remains unresolved.
These conditions form part of an interim supervision order, which was made after the state Attorney-General applied for Liddy's indefinite detention. That application is still to be considered by the Supreme Court, and Liddy has already failed in an attempt to have the bid thrown out, leaving the question of his long-term future open.
The Attorney-General made clear he would not give up trying to return Liddy to custody, saying the government was doing every single thing within its power to keep him behind bars. For now, the former magistrate is spending his first nights back in the community in decades, while the courts weigh whether that freedom will be allowed to continue.