Why notorious rapist Simon Monteiro was released early

A notorious convicted rapist was freed from prison months before his sentence was due to expire after a court found he wasn’t planning to commit sexual or violent offences when he breached a supervision order, documents have revealed.

Simon Monteiro, known as the playboy rapist, earlier this month walked out of Cooma Correctional Centre after successfully appealing against the severity of his two-year jail sentence for breaking an extended supervision order slapped on him by the Supreme Court.

Monteiro, who previously led a reportedly glamorous playboy lifestyle and boasted about having a relationship with Mariah Carey, spent 12 years in jail for raping a former girlfriend before his release in April 2020.

A judge then granted authorities a five-year extended supervision order designed to restrict his movements and protect the community as he was reintegrated back into the community.

However, he breached the order by using multiple computers, mobile phones, fake names, email addresses and social media applications, including one that he used to search for a female corrective services officer, between July and August 2020.

He also breached restrictions on his employment by buying and selling torches without making a declaration.

While being sentenced, he declared he used the false names to avoid “discrimination, exclusion or persecution” as a result of “media attention”.

He was last year sentenced to spend at least another two years in jail and his non-parole period was not due to expire until August this year.

However, he successfully took his fight to have his jail time cut to the Court of Criminal Appeal, arguing his sentence was manifestly excessive and he received inadequate legal representation.

Despite pleading guilty, he described the charges as “utter bulls***” and claimed he was “doing nothing wrong in the community”.

He burst into tears in court when he was told by Justice Ian Harrison he would be released immediately and walked out of prison on February 17.

Justice Harrison, along with Justice Anthony Payne and Stephen Rothman, on Monday released their reasons, saying in a judgment the 55-year-old’s breaches of the ESO were not related to “serious offending”.

They found his sentence was “manifestly excessive” and re-sentenced him to 18 months in jail.

“The offences committed by the applicant (Monteiro) are not in the category of planning for, or preparation for, or the commission of, serious sexual or violent offences,” the justices said in their judgment published on Monday.

“There may be occasions in certain offences that have given rise to an ESO where the breach of a supervisory condition discloses an increased risk of serious offending, such as to give rise to additional factors affecting the seriousness of the breach.

“This is not such a case.”