Pedophile will be 'watched like a hawk'
Wed, 4 September 2019 6:04AM
Camera IconNSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman says pedophile Michael Guider will be "watched like a hawk".
The serial pedophile who killed Sydney schoolgirl Samantha Knight will be "watched like a hawk" upon his pending release from jail, the NSW attorney-general promises.
A Supreme Court judge on Tuesday rejected an application to keep Michael Guider behind bars for another year, instead imposing a five-year extended supervision order with dozens of strict conditions.
The now 68-year-old pleaded guilty in 2002 to the manslaughter of nine-year-old Samantha, who disappeared from Bondi on August 19, 1986. Her body has never been found.
Guider's 17-year jail term has expired, but he was placed on an interim detention order that ends on Thursday.
Attorney-General Mark Speakman is seeking urgent advice about the prospects of appealing the decision and whether Guider can be kept in jail while an appeal is heard.
"Ideally, he would be in jail," Mr Speakman told Nine's Today Show on Wednesday.
"We have done the best we can to try to keep him detained and failing that, have him under very strict conditions.
"He will be supervised incredibly closely and we will watch him like a hawk."
Mr Speakman said it was perfectly understandable why the public will feel nervous about his release, and shared the community's concerns.
The 56 "extremely restrictive" conditions stipulate that Guider live in a half-way house adjacent to Long Bay jail and be subject to 24/7 electronic monitoring.
Samantha's mother Tess Knight said she was angry at the decision, while one of Guider's many child-abuse victims said, "Hold your children close."
"A child molester and a child killer will be released among us this week," Lisa Giles told reporters on Tuesday.
Guider is reportedly planning to earn a PhD upon his release.
His brother, Tim Guider, said the convicted killer had completed two degrees while in prison - including in palaeontology - and wanted to continue his studies once freed.
"Most people struggle financially to get a university education, but Michael was given one on a plate while in prison, that's distasteful," he told The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday.
"It's like he's gloating that he's been released from prison without telling anyone where he buried Samantha or what his crimes were."
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