Source Geelong Advertiser Jessica Craven: THE family of a grandmother who was sexually assaulted, bashed and choked to death by a man now living in Geelong has fought for years to have his identity known.

A public outcry followed the Geelong Advertiser report on saturday that the man, who was a teenager when he killed Marie Greening Zidan, 75, was now living in Belmont

People Against Lenient Sentencing president Steve Medcraft said he met Attorney-General Rob Hulls several years ago on behalf of the victim’s family to discuss having the suppression order lifted. It was a last-ditch attempt after years of campaigning to end the killers’ anonymity.

Ms Zidan was sexually assaulted, beaten about the head and strangled at her Seaford home on October 15, 2000, by two teenagers, then aged 14 and 15 before being robbed of $15. One of the men, who is now 26, faced fresh charges in the Geelong Magistrates’ Court last week but a suppression order prevents his identity from being made public

Mr Medcraft said despite promises from Mr Hulls that he would look into the case, there had been no further action. “The fact he is living in Geelong is a real worry because people down there don’t know who he is and he is a very dangerous customer, indeed,” Mr Medcraft said.

South Barwon MP Michael Crutchfield said this week he would request a briefing from Mr Hulls on the matter.

Mr Medcraft said that when the High Court threw out the killers’ appeal that their sentence was too harsh, Justice Michael Kirby refused to suppress their names.

“The secrecy around these guys is just frightening, it is like the Bulger case in England,” he said.

Mr Medcraft said now the killers were not teenagers, there was no reason to protect their identity.

“If these charges happened during his parole, he breached his parole and if it happened after, it is a new set of offences and there is no reason he shouldn’t be named, like anyone else who commits an offence,” he said.

“The community has a right to know. God save the people of Geelong, because the Government won’t.”

Geelong Advertiser readers have flooded the website to express their outrage that the killer cannot be named. “Why should he be allowed to hide here and the residents of Geelong not be made aware of the hidden danger?” a reader said.