AFTER being knocked back for parole three years in a row, a man who murdered a Tumut toddler 29 years ago has decided not to try his luck for a fourth time this year.
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A spokeswoman for the State Parole Authority said Douglas James Wade had not made an application for parole this June, so it had not been considered.
The spokeswoman said Wade’s next opportunity for parole would be next June.
Wade, now 54, sexually assaulted and murdered a 22-month-old girl in 1988.
The Tumut shearer was babysitting the youngster in a Capper Street house for a friend when he attacked.
An autopsy found the child suffered multiple injuries.
Wade pleaded not guilty to murder at trial but was convicted and given a life-sentence in 1989.
The unrepentant killer unsuccessfully appealed against his conviction in 2000, claiming at the time he only gave the girl one backhand blow to her stomach after she disobeyed him.
Wade also denied sexually assaulting his victim.
In 2013, Wade applied to the Supreme Court to fix a date for his life sentence to expire, and the following year Justice Megan Latham ordered that the sentence be a minimum of 26 years, with an additional 10 years on parole, dating from August, 1988.
That decision made Wade eligible to apply for parole that year, and he grabbed the opportunity.
But the State Parole Authority rejected the application on several grounds, including the need for structured post-release plans.
Similar reasons for refusing Wade parole were cited in 2015, as well the need for him to participate in pre-release external leave programs before being let out.
Pre-release leave is aimed at preparing offenders for their full-time return to the community.
The Serious Offenders Review Council has also recommended Wade not be granted parole each time he has applied.
Except in exceptional circumstances, the State Parole Authority must not make a parole order if the review council advises it is inappropriate to do so.