A notorious rapist and killer who now claims to be “transgender” has avoided jail in Queensland for a supervision order breach despite warnings he is at risk of committing a “sexually sadistic murder”.
Mark Richard Lawrence, 64, who earlier this year said he was “transitioning” into a woman and asked to be called Maryanne, was released in 2020 with strict supervision conditions after serving almost four decades in prison.
He was first jailed in 1983 for manslaughter after he and a co-offender abducted and raped psychiatric patient Julie Ann Muirhead, 29, cut her throat with a broken bottle and burned her body, and then had his sentence extended for raping another prisoner. He also assaulted three children while in his late teens.
The Supreme Court on Friday found Lawrence breached his supervision order by exposing himself to hospital staff in 2024, but decided not to return him to jail, and he will instead remain at a special facility for dangerous convicted sex offenders in Brisbane’s west, The Courier Mail reported.
The Wacol sex offenders precinct is home to some of the state’s worst paedophiles and rapists, who live two to three to a house, and pay 25% of their welfare payments in rent. Some are required to have an escort or wear ankle monitors if they leave the site, and visitors must be approved.
Forensic psychiatrist Andrew Aboud said in a report compiled for the court if Lawrence did reoffend the crime was likely to be horrific, butif he continued taking his required anti-libidinal medication the risk was “moderate to low” and manageable under the current supervision order.
“Should the respondent reoffend sexually … it may take the form of planned or impulsive violent sexual assault of a vulnerable adult or child,” Dr Aboud said.
“Any such offence would likely be driven by a need for sexual gratification. Extreme violence may be employed to subdue his victim.
“Given his past offending history, it must be recognised that should he reoffend, there is a potential for the offence behaviour to be very serious, namely the committal of a sexually sadistic murder.”
Another forensic psychiatrist, Jane Phillips, assessed Lawrence’s risk of reoffending as high without the sex drive medication, and moderate while on the supervision order, but noted the hospital offending was not a serious sexual offence, was non-violent and did not include a child.
Justice Scott McLeod found that although he was satisfied Lawrence had breached the order, there had been no serious sexual offending, and the order had “in effect been working as intended”, and was therefore adequate for the protection of the community.
The state government is now looking into whether it can appeal the decision, and acting attorney-general Jarrod Bleijie said the legal advice had been requested.
Lawrence committed the breach after being taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital from the sex offenders precinct in December 2024 after a suspected overdose of prescription medication.
The sex predator exposed his genitals, whispered to female staff to come closer to him, and performed a sex act under his bed sheets, resulting in him being charged with four counts of committing an indecent act with intent to insult or offend.
But the charges were dropped in a magistrates court in November and Lawrence instead pleaded guilty to a single count of wilful exposure to offend or embarrass.
Under the terms of his order Lawrence cannot leave the sex offenders precinct unsupervised, and must get Queensland Corrective Services permission to go to public parks and shopping centres, be in a place with a children’s play area or child-minding area, or join a club or organisation where children are involved.
Header image: Left, Mark Richard Lawrence. Right, Julie Ann Muirhead.
The post ‘Transgender’ killer avoids jail despite ‘sexually sadistic murder’ risk first appeared on The Noticer.
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