Cop charged with failing to properly investigate a paroled rapist before he raped and choked a seven-year-old girl in a dance studio toilet 'ignored all but one of 19 alerts in a police database'
A police officer has been charged with failing to properly investigate threatening phone calls by a rapist on parole before he sexually assaulted a child in a bathroom.
Leading Senior Constable Andrew Michael Bruce, 32, is accused of neglecting his duty by only looking through one of the 19 'events' listed in a police database against the man after a woman complained in October 2018.
The parolee, Anthony Peter Sampieri filmed a seven-year-old girl as he raped and choked her in the bathroom of a dance studio in Kograh, in Sydney's south, about two weeks later on November 15.
He is serving a life sentence in prison over the vile crime.
Leading Senior Constable Andrew Michael Bruce , 32, is accused of neglecting his duty
Sen Con Bruce is accused of failing to look into the criminal history of Anthony Peter Sampieri after a woman in October 2018 complained the parolee was making threatening phone calls
Sampieri raped, choked and filmed a seven-year-old girl held captive in the bathroom of a Kogarah dance studio on November 15
Sen Con Bruce was charged in April 2019 with neglecting his duty for failing to conduct a proper investigation into the the woman's complaints that Sampieri was making numerous disgusting phone calls to her.
In court on Tuesday, the crown prosecutor questioned the the officer in charge of the internal investigation into Sen Con Bruce, whether checking one of the 19 listings was proper procedure.
'One is not sufficient,' Superintendent Despa Fitzgerald told the court, according to The Daily Telegraph.
He said Sen Con Bruce should have investigated the complaints further and checked what charges he was on parole for.
'So, you know, what the offence is and is it similar to what you are investigating,' she told the court.
Supt Fitzgerald said the senior constable had not alerted Community Corrections about the complaints and simply visited Sampieri and ordered him to 'cut it out'.
Sen Con Bruce's defence barrister argued the complainant did not want to give police a statement or go to court so there was no basis to make an arrest.
'Fail to arrest is not one of the allegations,' the crown prosecutor replied.
Police outside the dance studio cordoned off with crime scene tape after the attack