17 hours ago
This may look like an ordinary 'holiday park'... but behind the electric fence is a dark reality
An Aussie filmed the moment he tried to gain access to one of the country's most controversial facilities that house dangerous sex offenders.
Max Caruso attempted to enter the heavily guarded compound known as Corella Place, near Ararat, a town in Victoria that has a population of around 12,000 people.
Caruso said he was inspired to investigate the site after watching videos about similar facilities in the US, including Florida 's infamous 'Pervert Park.'
Corella Place isn't a typical detention centre: it's a purpose-built, high-security complex for offenders who have completed their sentences, but are still considered too dangerous to live freely in the community.
Intrigued, Caruso set out to locate Corella Place for himself and documented the journey on his YouTube channel.
During his visit to the town, Caruso spoke to several locals, many of whom expressed discomfort about living near the facility.
'They can come out of there, and walk straight out the gate,' one man said, voicing concerns about how freely the residents can move despite being under surveillance.
Another local believed he had passed the complex multiple times, but still wasn't entirely sure where it was located.
Caruso and a friend eventually drove out of town and followed Warrak Road to the site.
The pair were stunned to discover how close the facility was to the Hopkins Correctional Centre, a men's prison.
Taking in the view of what he dubbed 'the Pervert Prison', Caruso remarked on how comfortable the facility appeared.
'These people aren't even living that badly,' he said, pointing out the neat, uniform housing.
'This is basically a holiday park for them where they can hang out with their own kind and be protected from the rest of society.
'I thought it would be like a super accessible place, and you'd be able to walk in and see it. That is not the case.'
The facility, surrounded by an electric fence, was heavily guarded, and the pair were quickly noticed by security.
They were approached by someone in a van who questioned them about what they were filming.
Caruso replied they were filming content for his YouTube channel, claiming they were just capturing footage of the surrounding farmland.
But the reality of how restricted the area quickly became clear.
Caruso said he risked being charged if he moved closer, and the pair left the site.
Frustrated by the tight security and lack of access, Caruso vowed to return.
'We drove five hours just to look at a wall,' he said.
Operated under Post Sentence Orders (PSOs), Corella Place residents are monitored around the clock, wear GPS ankle bracelets, and have restricted access to phones and the internet.
Leaving the premises usually requires an escort.
Dubbed the 'Village of the Damned,' the facility was designed to manage high-risk individuals post-release, keeping them isolated under strict conditions until their PSOs expire or are revoked.
According to Victoria's Post Sentence Authority, as of June 30 last year, 123 people were under PSO monitoring.
Ninety of them are under surveillance for serious sex offences, 20 for violent offences, and 13 for both.
Over the years, Corella Place has housed some of Australia's most notorious offenders, including Robin Fletcher, the self-styled 'paedophile witch', who has remained under supervision at the facility since 2006.
Among others is Theo Briggs, who raped a woman at knifepoint in 2009 while children were in the home.
He escaped in 2016 but was later recaptured.
In 2013, high-risk offenders Sean Carmody-Coyle and David Gregory Byrnes escaped the facility and were found 23km away.
Carmody-Coyle managed to escape again in 2014, riding off on a mountain bike armed with knives before being caught the following morning.
In 2018, child sex offender and inmate Gregory Paul Sedgman died at Ballarat Base Hospital after he overdosed on prescription medication at Corella Place.
A review into the incident in 2022 found the death could have been avoided, leading to an overhaul of medication storage in the facility.
It was revealed Sedgeman had taken more than he was initially prescribed, after an inmate distracted officers.
'If appropriate oversight of Mr Sedgman's case management occurred … his increased risk of substance abuse may have been dealt with more effectively,' the report said.
