Australia’s decision to deport an Angus paedophile back to Scotland has sparked outrage in the area.
The clear message to former Arbroath man William Thomas Dunbar Milne who abused girls as young as seven in Australia was, “We don’t want you back in Angus.”
Arbroath councillor Bob Spink said, “To have him deported from Australia where he committed his crimes back to his native Scotland and perhaps eventually Angus fills me with horror and outrage.”
Milne is one step closer to being sent back to Scotland after losing his appeal against a deportation order. He has been at the Maribyrnong Detention Centre since last May when he was paroled after serving a seven-year prison sentence for the sexual assault of 10 girls aged seven to 11.
Milne (69) is originally from Arbroath and has lived in Australia since 1970.
“Nothing is more important to any community than the health, security, and well-being of our children,” said Mr Spink. “The betrayal of such innocent trust by any adult is unforgivable and entirely foreign to most of us who simply cannot comprehend or accept why any individual should or can act in such a manner.
“William Thomas Dunbar Milne has been found guilty of this most heinous of crimes and has thus ostracised himself forever, in my opinion, from society.”
Australian immigration minister Chris Bowen wants Milne out of the country, but the 69-year-old appealed against the decision in the federal court. A full bench of the Federal Court has now upheld Mr Bowen’s decision to deport him.’Deeply concerned’Arbroath councillor Donald Morrison said, “I have to agree totally with Councillor Spink. Obviously, the public will be deeply concerned about the possibility of this man returning to Scotland, given the Australian Immigration Minister’s statement that Mr Milne failed to complete a rehabilitation programme and has shown little insight into his offending.
“Scottish police and other authorities need to reassure the public should he return, but I am angry the authorities in Australia are seeking to deport a man who has lived there for over 40 years and will have little connection with the Angus area.”
As The Herald Sun in Australia reported, Milne was convicted in Victoria County Court in 2005 of abusing the girls from 2001-04.
“Through your vile actions, Mr Milne, you have caused so much harm to so many children and so many families,” Judge Ian Robertson said when sentencing him.
“As a mature adult, you have most cruelly betrayed the trust that every adult has towards the children of our community. You clearly present to this court as representing a continuing risk to young female children in our community.”
Milne was paroled from Ararat prison in May after serving five years of a seven-year sentence but taken straight to a detention centre in Maribyrnong in Victoria. Milne was supported in court by his wife, who left him after his offending came to light.
A Home Office spokesman said, “The UK has one of the most robust systems for managing and rehabilitating violent and sexual offenders in the world, and the police have a range of tools to manage sex offenders regardless of where the offence took place.”
Photo by Flickr user marragem.