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<\/p>\nA UK national jailed for molesting a nine-year-old girl has had his visa reinstated by a tribunal due to his “ill health” and “strong ties” to Australia.<\/p>\n
WARNING: This article includes details some readers may find distressing.<\/p>\n
Edward James Kilbey was sentenced to 14 months in prison in 2024 for sexually abusing the girl in the presence of another young child.<\/p>\n
The 83-year-old, who lives in Perth, successfully appealed the automatic cancellation of his permanent visa at the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) last year.<\/p>\n
The decision was made under Ministerial Direction 110 \u2014 a rule introduced by the government to toughen the visa cancellation appeals process, after the old direction allowed dozens of serious criminals to avoid deportation.<\/p>\n
It has prompted calls from the young victim’s family for Immigration Minister Tony Burke to overhaul the decision.<\/p>\n
“You held or pinned her down,” Perth District Court Judge Felicity Zempilas said at his sentencing hearing.<\/p>\n
“This conduct was not fleeting and involved a degree of force or coercion by you towards her.”<\/p>\n
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Kilbey successfully appealed the automatic cancellation of his permanent visa. (Supplied)<\/p>\n
Kilbey told the ART \u2014 responsible for reviewing the government’s visa cancellation decisions \u2013 that he did not remember molesting his victim but accepted the court’s findings.<\/p>\n
ART documents obtained by the ABC showed he contended that he had strong ties to Australia and did “not represent an unacceptable risk to the Australian community”.<\/p>\n
Kilbey did not raise concerns regarding returning to the UK other than separation from family and friends and the difficulty he would face resettling due to his health issues.<\/p>\n
ART deputy president Simone Burford acknowledged Kilbey’s offending was “undoubtably very serious”.<\/p>\n
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Kilbey’s abuse occurred between 2016 and 2017. (Supplied)<\/p>\n
“The Australian community would expect his visa would remain cancelled,” she said in her decision.<\/p>\n
“Weighed against this he has very strong ties to this country and faces significant impediments if removed, including due to his advanced age and ill health.”<\/p>\n
Ms Burford said the tribunal was “satisfied” that the latter factors “outweighed” the former.<\/p>\n
Families ‘horrified’ by decision<\/p>\n
Kilbey, who has lived in Australia for several decades, had also been charged in relation to the sexual abuse of a young boy, but was acquitted by a jury.<\/p>\n
The mother of that boy, Linda*, said she and the young girl’s families were both “horrified” to learn Kilbey had avoided deportation.<\/p>\n
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Linda says Kilbey has been given priority over victims of child sex abuse. (Supplied\u00a0)<\/p>\n
“[We were] completely let down, completely betrayed,” she told the ABC.<\/p>\n
“His needs were put before the victim’s, before the community \u2026 why are we giving priority to an abuser over Australian child victims of sexual abuse?”<\/p>\n
Linda wrote to Mr Burke on three occasions, pleading he deport Kilbey “in the public interest”.<\/p>\n
The Department of Home Affairs responded to Linda earlier this year on behalf of the immigration minister, advising that his personal powers were “non-compellable”.<\/p>\n
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Linda wrote to the immigration minister three times pleading for Kilbey to be deported. (Supplied\u00a0)<\/p>\n
“That is, the ministers are not required to exercise their power,” the letter said.<\/p>\n
“Further, what is in the public interest is a matter for the ministers to determine.<\/p>\n
“I appreciate this is not the response you were hoping for \u2026 I can assure you that your correspondence has been noted.”<\/p>\n
When contacted by the ABC, Mr Kilbey said: “Well I’ve got my visa back, so it’s all good.”<\/p>\n
Direction 110 made to protect community<\/p>\n