UPDATE: Police have described wanted man Barry Dettman, 51, as a “high risk” sex offender.
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He is known to frequent the Bendigo and Werribee areas, and was last seen in Werribee on February 9.
Assistant Commissioner Neil Paterson addressed the media in Melbourne, and said Dettman was at risk of reoffending.
“Mr Dettman is considered a high risk sex offender and we know that when a registered sex offender is actively avoiding their obligations under the act, that their risk of reoffending increases,” he said.
“Mr Dettman has a long criminal history with offences relating to violence, dishonesty and drug use.”
Listen (story continues after audio):
Dettman was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for eight years from February 8 last year, when he was sentenced for obscene exposure, committing indecent acts in the presence of a child and wilful exposure.
The offending took place in Bendigo, Hoppers Crossing and on Melbourne Metro trains.
He escaped the Langi Kal Kal Prison in April, one month before he was eligible for parole, and was captured soon after in Werribee.
Dettman had an extra six months added to his sentence and was released in December.
He breached his Sex Offenders Register reporting obligations on January 8 and was arrested on January 18.
Dettman was convicted for the offence in the Sunshine Magistrates’ Court on January 19 and was released from custody.
He breached his reporting obligations again on January 20 when he was not residing at his provided address.
Dettman has been on the run ever since.
UPDATE: A Sex offender who escaped a country Victorian prison last year is being hunted by police again after failing to notify police of his current residential address.
Barry Robert Dettman, 51, is known to frequent the Bendigo and Werribee areas.
Victoria Police have called for the public’s assistance in locating Dettman after he did not update his address, which is part of his reporting obligations as a registered sex offender.
Dettman is Caucasian in appearance, blue eyes with short grey hair. He is 175 centimetres tall with a slim build.
Dettman escaped the minimum security Langi Kal Kal Prison in Trawalla, north-west of Ballarat, in April last year. He was eligible for parole one month later.
He was later arrested in Werribee and had an extra six months added to his jail sentence.
Dettman was originally serving time for a range of offences including indecent acts in the presence of a child and wilful and obscene exposure.
During an appeal against his jail sentence, the court heard Dettman masturbated on a train from Laverton to Footscray stations in front of a young woman while making “crude remarks”.
He then masturbated in front of a teenage girl who was wearing a school uniform on the train. A woman with a three-year-old child witnessed the incident.
Dettman also exposed himself to a staff member in the offices of a Bendigo social welfare organisation, and breached intervention orders against a person in Bendigo.
Dettman exposed himself to a woman in the steam room at AquaPulse aquatic centre in Hoppers Crossing.
He claimed his offending stemmed from his ice use.
Dettman abandoned the appeal.
Dettman has since been released from jail after serving his non-parole period, but must comply with Sex Offender Register conditions, including informing police when he changes address.
EARLIER: POLICE are searching for a registered sex offender who is known to frequent the Bendigo and Werribee areas.
Barry Dettman, 51, failed to notify police of his current residential address, which is part of his reporting obligations.
Police believe he frequents Bendigo and Werribee, but they have been unable to locate him.
Dettman is Caucasian in appearance, blue eyes with short grey hair. He is 175 centimetres tall with a slim build.
Anyone who sights Dettman is urged to contact triple zero immediately.