Australian grandmother convicted of stalking sex offender

A grandmother who outed a pedophile who moved in nearby after he left prison ended up behind bars herself, she has revealed.

Maxine Davey, from Calliope, south of Gladstone in Queensland, Australia wanted to inform her neighbors of the child sex offender in their midst. But she crossed a legal line that landed her with a criminal conviction and a hefty fine.

“I’m not a criminal,” Davey told A Current Affair.

“Well, I am a criminal. By the law.”

In 2020, Edward James Thomson, now 41, was convicted of a series of crimes against children including one count of indecent treatment of a child under 12, three counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16, sexual assaults and rape.

His victims were two girls – one aged 16 and one aged between 10 and 12 at the time the crimes took place.

He was sentenced to a maximum of two years and nine months in jail. However, his sentence, which he was serving in Rockhampton Jail, was suspended after one year.

In March this year he lost an appeal against those convictions. But now, because of Davey, he is a victim of a crime.

When Thompson moved to a neighborhood close to Davey, she decided to do something about it.

She told her neighbors and protested on the small town’s streets with a sign alerting people to the presence of a convicted child sex offender.

She then decided to film Thomson’s house and vehicles and to post the footage online.

Because she filmed from the footpath, and didn’t step foot onto the property, she thought she had stayed on the right side of the law.

She hadn’t.

By identifying where Thomson lived and even his cars’ registration details she had effectively doxxed him by revealing his exact location.

“I crossed the line by posting it,” Ms Davey told the Channel 9 program.

“It was online for to two hours and 35 minutes before I quickly removed it.

“I didn’t think it was illegal. I had no idea. I’ve been in Australia for 41 years. I’ve never committed a criminal offence.”

Shortly afterwards, Davey got a visit from local cops who seized her phone, threw her in a cell for three-and-a-half hours and charged her with unlawful stalking.

“I was shocked. I was sorry. I didn’t know at the take time I’d broken the law but obviously they told me,” she said.

When approached by A Current Affair last year about Davey’s case, Thomson said: “It’s caused a lot of stress for the whole family. We’re just trying to get on with normal life.”

Nine months later, Davey faced Gladstone Court on her stalking charge. She was advised by her legal aid funded lawyer that prison was a real possibility with the maximum sentence being five years.

“My lawyer asked ‘have you got your affairs in order’ and I was taken aback.

“She said there was a high chance I could go to jail. That sent me into shock.”

In the end, Davey narrowly avoided prison but the conviction was recorded and she was handed a $2200 fine. She is also barred from discussing Thomson for two years.

“I’ve never considered myself a criminal. Now I’ll have this charge against me for the rest of my life.”

One of the child victims of Thomson also spoke to the program about Davey’s drama.

“She doesn’t deserve to be charged for stalking at all.

“He deserves a lot worse than what he got.”