State Parole Authority changes decision after arrests of Sanoussi's brothers, one day after granting him parole

This article is more than 7 years old

This article is more than 7 years old

Mohamed Sanoussi, convicted of a series of rapes 13 years ago as part of the Skaf gang, has had his parole revoked a day after being granted release from jail.

The State Parole Authority (SPA) said on Friday it had revoked Sanoussi's parole after it emerged his two brothers, a cousin and a friend had been arrested.

It said his post-release accommodation would be unsuitable because two of the men in question lived there.

The SPA said it had received submissions from Corrective Services NSW recommending the parole order be revoked.

"The Authority agreed with the CSNSW submission that the previously approved accommodation was not suitable in light of the new information," the SPA said in a statement.

On Thursday the authority determined that Sanoussi, 29, was a changed man and should be released this month or in October.

Sanoussi has served 13 years of a 16-year sentence for the rapes of several girls in 2000, when he was 16. The rapes carried out by the gang led by Bilal Skaf in south-western Sydney caused a huge public outcry.

A public hearing to review the decision will be held on 19 September.

Sanoussi had been granted parole under strict conditions, including a ban on him associating with the Brothers 4 Life gang.

Parole had been opposed by police, who claimed members of the gang had been meeting at Sanoussi's family home.

On Thursday it emerged his brothers Ahmed Sanoussi, 30, and Mahmoud Sanoussi, 28, had been charged with attacking a cleaner in the Sydney suburb of Revesby.

His cousin Muhammad Sanoussi, 29, and another man, 31-year-old Ar'med Bre'aery, were also charged.