Pilbara paedophile Fabian Alec Coffin to remain behind bars

A convicted paedophile who preyed on children in the Pilbara for more than a decade has again been ordered to remain in prison indefinitely after a Perth judge ruled he remained a “high risk” serious offender. Fabian Alec Coffin, 48, committed a series of sexual offences between 1990 and 2002, beginning with the violent rape of a 16-year-old South Hedland girl as she walked home from work. Between December 1995 and March 1996, Coffin assaulted a girl aged between 11 and 12 years. He pleaded guilty to one charge of indecent dealing with a child and six charges of sexually penetrating a child. In October 2000, Coffin indecently assaulted an 18-year-old female and in January 2001, he assaulted a 13-year-old victim while she slept. In July 2002, when Coffin was on bail for two offences from 2000 and 2001, he assaulted six more victims aged between 10 and 13 years old. On July 19, 2002, Coffin indecently dealt with a child. Then on July 31 of the same year, he gained entry to a house where he sexually assaulted a boy and two girls who had been sleeping. Afterwards, Coffin went to another house where he indecently dealt with two girls, both aged 13, who were also sleeping. As a result, he was charged with six counts of indecently dealing with a child and one count of attempting to sexually penetrate a child. Justice Gail Ann Archer refused to release Coffin back into the community after psychiatric evidence provided to the Supreme Court of Western Australia in October suggested he remained at a high risk of reoffending. “The risk posed by the respondent is that, due to his deviant sexual interest in young females, his impulsivity, and his tendency to use drugs, he would commit a serious offence against a young female if he was in the community,” she said. “As such an offence would likely be impulsive and opportunistic, it is unlikely that even onerous supervision conditions would prevent the offence occurring. “The risk is increased by the real possibility he would lie to those supervising him about matters relevant to his risk.” Coffin’s maximum prison term expired on February 15, 2014, and a Dangerous Offenders Act order was imposed by Justice Stephen Hall on September 5. Since imposing the continuing detention order, there has been three reviews with each order affirmed.