Queensland child protection laws under the microscope after mum not told of property manager's paedophile past

Queensland's tough child protection laws are under the spotlight after two registered child sex offenders repeatedly entered the home of a young mum whilst acting as her landlord.

Convicted rapist and child sex offender Steve Harvey posted an ad for the three-bedroom townhouse in Brisbane's bayside under a pseudonym of "Peter Pipper".

Zahra, whose surname has been withheld, rented the property last October with Harvey acting as property manager and failing to inform her of his sordid criminal history.

She claims he inspected an upstairs roof area while her son was asleep in an adjacent bedroom.

"It's scary. I left my child upstairs with him and I had no idea about his background and he didn't tell me anything about it so it's really dangerous," she said.

Harvey came to A Current Affair's attention in January when he was filmed working amongst children at a petting zoo in Samford.

He's since been charged with 13 fresh offences relating to failing to comply with reporting obligations.

The property he was renting out to Zahra and her four-year-old son is actually owned by another notorious paedophile, Michael Richard Hodges, who entered the home without even knocking.

"I was scared. I was thinking, why did I let him come inside my house?" she said.

"What if something happened to me? I had no idea."

At the time, Hodges was on parole for his latest child sex offences, part of a 20-year criminal history, described by a magistrate as one of the worst he'd seen.

Hodges has an intellectual impairment but has been found by courts to have the mental capacity to know the difference between right and wrong.

His most recent convictions were three years jail in 2020 for making child exploitation material and another three years soon after release in 2023, for using the internet to procure a child under 16.

Hodges is subject to reporting conditions for life but was filmed walking past a primary school and kindergarten in the Brisbane suburb of Cleveland.

When Hodges entered her home, Zahra grabbed her iPhone and began filming, asking him why he'd entered without any formal notice or even knocking.

"So if you're coming to someone's house, you need to knock the door. What if I'm just naked here?" she said, not knowing he was a sex offender.

Only when she watched the video back did she realise this man was a criminal as she spotted a tracking monitor on his ankle.

Criminal lawyer Andrew Carpenter was stunned that a tenant could be placed in such a terrifying situation.

"Normally the only vermin that tenants have to deal with are rats and mice, not convicted child sex offenders," he said.

Hodges and Harvey are believed to have struck up a friendship inside prison.

Harvey, acting as property manager, rented the townhouse out to Zahra and her boyfriend, demanding six months rent be paid upfront, which is prohibited by law.

The RTA website states a maximum of one month rent can be charged upfront with penalties of up to $8345 for an individual for failing to comply.

"These offenders have swapped preying on vulnerable children to preying on vulnerable renters," Carpenter said.

A Queensland Police Service spokesperson said no offences were detected in Harvey and Hodges conduct, prompting calls from legal fraternity for even tighter child protection legislation.

"The laws are set up to protect children from these offenders, not leave them legal loopholes in grey areas, which allow them to go into properties," Carpenter said.