William Thomas Clare

Background

William Thomas Clare was a convicted killer who was also described as a paedophile. Clare had been known to police as a child-sex offender and the Department of Community Services had been notified several times.

Clare began minding the brother and sister the month before the three-year-old boy died. He saw the mother and her children at a Sydney rail station, told her she looked "worn out" and offered to babysit. The woman took him up on the offer, paying him $30 a day to look after her children.

The children had been living with Clare at his unit at Concord, in Sydney's inner west, for about three weeks.

The offence

Clare raped his victim, a six-year-old girl, and filmed the assault. He later forced the girl to watch the footage.

The current conviction related to the rape and manslaughter of a three-year-old boy, the brother of the six-year-old girl.

On September 13, 2003, after Clare raped the boy, the child vomited and stopped breathing.

Clare said he applied a 240-volt current to the boy's chest "like a heart-starter" in an effort to revive him. The attempt to use the electrical current was described in evidence as a potential cause of death. Clare applied anal intercourse to the boy and later told police the child vomited in his sleep.

In closing submissions to the jury, Crown prosecutor Christopher Maxwell QC said significant pain and trauma can cause vomiting, and that it was possible the child died after choking on his vomit. The crown submitted that the sexual intercourse contributed to the vomiting, describing it as possible that the aim included sexual gratification and awareness of what he was doing and the pain being caused.

Clare pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the boy at his unit at Croydon but denied murdering him.

Investigation

Clare was caught after he filmed himself raping the girl on September 12, 2003.

The Department of Community Services had been notified several times. An Ombudsman's report described the case as exposing failings in the New South Wales child protection regime. The report showed the Department of Community Services had been alerted seven times to suspected abuse dating back more than three years leading up to the boy's death in September last year.

NSW Ombudsman Bruce Barbour singled out the rape and death case as he cast doubt on the effectiveness of the entire state child protection system. The Ombudsman's report raised concerns about police handling of the case saying there was a "lack of rigour" in following up earlier claims that the girl had been raped by the mother's boyfriend at the time.

Police and the NSW Coroner continued to investigate the case.

Arrest

Clare was known to police as a child-sex offender. He was caught after filming himself raping the girl on September 12, 2003.

Trial

The trial continued before Justice Michael Grove on Monday.

Clare pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the boy but denied murdering him. He was accused of murdering the boy later that day.

At trial, Clare was said to have anal intercourse with the boy and later phoned triple-0 just after midnight on September 14 saying the boy had vomited and couldn't breathe.

The jury found him not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter.

In closing submissions to the jury, Mr Maxwell said:

"So what caused the vomiting? The crown submits (it was) the sexual intercourse."

Mr Maxwell also said:

"At the time he was inflicting or committing this sexual intercourse, perhaps part of the aim was to get some sexual gratification."

Mr Maxwell said:

"But part of what's going on in his head was a clear awareness of what he was doing and the pain he was causing."

Mr Maxwell invited the jury to reject Clare's account that he used the wires in an attempt to save the boy's life, and he said:

"Even a person of limited intelligence would know the terrible danger, the lethal danger, of putting electricity like this on anyone,"

Mr Maxwell also said:

"If they found the boy had choked to death, the electric shocks were "no more than this accused realising what he had done and then making some desperate attempt to get out of it"."

Mr Maxwell also said:

"But if the boy was still alive when Clare applied the electrical current, it was capable of killing him, Mr Maxwell said."

Justice Michael Grove told the court that the attack on the boy, known only as J, "was accompanied by an intention to gratify a depraved sexual urge [and] falls within the category of the worst case of manslaughter." Justice Michael Grove also said:

"Words are really an insufficient medium to convey an appropriate condemnation of your debauched behaviour,"

The jury took less than three hours before finding him not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter.

Sentencing

In August 2006, Clare was sentenced to life in prison (minimum 25 years). He had been sentenced to 16 years' jail for rape of a 6-year-old girl.

Clare was convicted again in August 2006 for the rape/manslaughter of a 3-year-old boy. He was sentenced to 25 years in jail and 18 years 9 months non parole for manslaughter, with another 14 years for sexual assault of his victim. The sentences were to be served concurrently.

Clare was also sentenced today to 14 years for the aggravated sexual assault of the boy.

The sentences, to be served concurrently, did not begin until 2015, which was Clare's earliest release date for the rape of the six-year-old girl.

Clare was eligible for parole in 2033.

Appeals

No appeal information was provided.

Outcome

Clare was found not guilty of murder and guilty of manslaughter.

Clare was also convicted for sexual assault of the three-year-old boy.

Aftermath

Outside court today, the boy's family, who cannot be named, welcomed the sentence. The children's father said:

"I am just so relieved that society will be able to move on and not have somebody of this nature and character out on the streets upsetting anyone else and their family,"

The boy's grandmother said:

"It was a very, very sad and traumatic time I'm sure for him, and it has been very difficult for us and we are very thankful to the judge."

The Australian described the case as exposing failings of the New South Wales child protection regime. The Ombudsman's report also raised concerns about police handling of the case and called for a "threshold test", making it harder for authorities to close the books on cases of suspected child abuse and neglect.

Community Services Minister Carmel Tebbutt accepted the Ombudsman's recommendation for a "threshold test" and the need for a review of the specific case, and she said:

"The child-protection system can never replace loving, effective, nurturing parents as the best way to keep children safe."

Timeline

• September 12, 2003 — Clare filmed himself raping the six-year-old girl.
• September 13, 2003 — Clare raped the three-year-old boy; the child vomited and stopped breathing.
• September 14, 2003 — Clare phoned triple-0 just after midnight saying the boy had vomited and couldn't breathe.
• August 2006 — Clare was sentenced to life in prison (minimum 25 years) after being convicted of the rape/manslaughter of the three-year-old boy, with concurrent sentences for sexual assault.