The Cairns Post Probe after child rapist placed in foster home with three girls By: Damon Guppy Date: 5th November 2008 Email: guppyd@tcp.newsltd.com.au THREE sisters abused by their foster sibling are suing the Department of Child Safety for placing the teenage sex offender in their family. One of the victims is in hiding after the youth walked free from Cairns Magistrates Court last week after being convicted of sexually assaulting the sisters. The teen who cannot be named because he was 14 when he committed the offences had been on probation for raping a three-year-old girl about a year earlier. The Department of Child Safety is investigating why the youth was placed into the foster family with three girls when he had previously been convicted of a sex offence. The victims have hired a solicitor and will sue the department. Their grandmother said the sisters were mentally scarred from the abuse and had received counselling. She said one now 20 years old .. had left Cairns to get away from the youth. She was just paranoid that he would try to get her the grandmother said. She was living through absolute hell. The youngest sister now 16 was struggling to remain at work because she was so traumatised the grandmother said. She just lies in in a ball on the bed rocking and crying she said. She is in a serious state. We are really worried about her. The grandmother said the family knew of the youths conviction for raping a toddler but took him in because he was supposed to be receiving rehabilitation counselling organised by the Department of Child Safety. The family was told he had a lowto-moderate chance of re-offending. A spokeswoman for Child Safety Minister Margaret Keech said the department had undertaken a full practice review in relation to the foster families case. Attorney-general Kerry Shine has asked for the sentencing remarks of Judge Sarah Bradley who presided over the case to determine whether he will appeal her sentence. The youth had already served 204 days of detention while on remand for breaching his bail.