Opposition stunned by paedophile’s return to work at petting zoo

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The state opposition says it is “beyond comprehension” that a convicted child sex offender is working at a family-friendly cafe and farm popular with young children.

City Chicks Farm and Cafe in Samford Valley, north-west of Brisbane, advertises itself as a “kids play space” where children can feed and pat animals, but A Current Affair found paedophile Steven James Harvey working there this week.

In 2017, Harvey was sentenced to eight years’ jail for 15 sex offences, four of them against children, as well as nine counts of rape.

Shadow attorney-general Meaghan Scanlon says it’s “beyond comprehension” that a convicted child sex offender has been allowed to work at a family-friendly cafe.

Shadow attorney-general Meaghan Scanlon said it was beyond comprehension that someone convicted of these offences could be allowed to work with children.

“I am, like all Queenslanders, asking how this has happened,” she said. “If there is a failure here, it needs to be fixed.”

Steven Harvey insists, “I’m not doing anything wrong”.

Scanlon said the state government talked a big game when it came to child safety, and needed to address how Harvey was allowed to work with children.

The state government referred this masthead to Queensland Police when asked to comment on Harvey’s employment.

City Chicks owner Ingrid Dimock was in a relationship with Steven Harvey for almost two years.

Harvey began working at City Chicks not long after his release from prison, promoting its family-friendly attractions in social media clips.

When his sordid history was first exposed by Nine News last November, City Chicks owner Ingrid Dimock announced she was cutting all ties.

“I’m just trying to salvage my business and assure all families that it’s a very safe place,” Dimock said at the time, adding: “Steve Harvey has been removed from the premises and anything to do with the business.”

When Harvey was observed working in the cafe earlier this week, he claimed he had been cleared to do so by Queensland Police.

“I’m not doing anything wrong. I’ve had the police out here. They know that I’m here. They don’t have a problem with me being here. Why do you?” Harvey said.

When asked why a convicted child sex offender needed to work in an area swarming with children, Harvey pointed out there were “over 60,000 sex offenders in Queensland, they walk around the shops and everywhere else”.

Police on Thursday confirmed an investigation was under way into Harvey’s employment, but would not comment further.

The City Chicks petting zoo advertises itself as a “kids play space”.

This isn’t the first time Harvey has been caught near kids after his working with children permit was suspended.

In 2016, he was spotted operating a ride at a school when he was running a jumping castle business.

Harvey told A Current Affair there was more to his criminal convictions, and he always maintained his innocence.

“I’m not a sick individual, you are making stuff up,” he said. “You don’t know all of my history of everything that happened.”

Harvey also claimed that the destination considered by many locals to be a petting zoo was in fact a farm.

Despite claiming he only works in the kitchen now, Harvey was recorded speaking to a mother and her child inside the patting area this week.

City Chicks’ owner was in a relationship with Harvey for almost two years and told A Current Affair by text message that he’d been cleared to return.

“After carefully reviewing the situation with authorities, he is contributing legally in a strictly operational role behind the scenes, with no contact with children,” Dimock said.

This was a far cry from her position when his criminal history was first exposed in November and she told Nine News she didn’t want people “driving past yelling out foul words”, adding that she was “the victim here”.

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