Years before Daniel Morcombe and William Tyrell, Australia held its breath for missing nine-year-old Ebony Simpson.

In 1992, Ebony was walking home from the school bus drop-off point in Bargo, 100km southwest of Sydney, when she approached what appeared to be a broken down car.

As she approached, the car's owner, Andrew Garfoth, threw her into the boot and drove to a remote dam.

There, he bound her with wire, raped her, weighed down her school bag and threw her into the dam to drown.

After the search for her body was complete, it quickly emerged that Garforth had assisted in the search for the abducted girl.

In a police interview at the time, aired on A Current Affair in 1993, Garforth confessed to the murder and failed to show any remorse.

"The young girl walked past, I grabbed her and put her in the boot put her in the car and drove away," Garforth told investigators.

"She pleaded with me to let her go."

Bargo residents were so horrified by the murder that they called on the government to bring back the death penalty.

"Let’s tie his legs and arms and see how he goes. C'mon, let’s get him here now," one resident said during the court case.

The judge found there should be no mercy and sentenced Garforth to life in prison, never to be released.

"Ebony Simpson got the death sentence, the Simpson family got a life sentence and Garforth's got bed and breakfast," Ebony's father Peter said outside the court following Garforth's sentencing.

But 23 years later, Ebony’s mother Christine contacted A Current Affair after being informed that prison life for Andrew Garforth was set to improve.

"I got a phone call from the victims register to tell me his classification had been changed to a B," Mrs Simpson said.

The change of prisoner classification to a B grade means that Garforth has been downgraded from maximum security to a medium security prisoner.

The move to medium security means he now has the ability to apply for further freedoms - such as a sandwich toaster in his cell, courses in things like woodwork and even a job in the prison garden or laundry.

"To you it might be just a toaster but to us its a massive change and it hurts it damn well hurts," Mrs Simpson said.

Classification downgrades are used by corrective services to reward good behaviour, especially for those who will never be released.

"He's a pedophile, he's a child murderer. Look back over his record, it will horrify you. He came onto our property, he joined the search. We fed him - he's a horrible man. Why do you think he needs to be doing a course? He didn't do a course when he was out," Mrs Simpson said.

She says she has always feared that attitudes on Garforth's sentence would change over time.

Prisoners advocate Brett Collins, who served 10 years in jail for armed robbery and now lobbies for improved prisoner welfare, was one of those lobbying for Garforth's reduced sentence.

"It's a really sad thing to have lost their child but to link it to the man, the offender, is a shame. Clearly at some stage, move on with their lives and let him move on with his life as well," Mr Collins told A Current Affair .

Mrs Simpson says no parent ever really recovers from losing a child, especially one taken by a murderer who has never bothered to try and apologise.

"I can't bring her back to life, I want justice. I want what was set down - lock him up, throw away the key," she said.