Two months prison for recidivist sex-offender who talked inappropriately to two young girls

Otarawairere Bay. Photo / File

A man who asked two young girls at Otarawairere Beach in Whakatāne whether they liked sex has been sentenced to two months in prison.

Interim suppression preventing the naming of Paul Andrew Hislop was lifted when he appeared in the Whakatāne District Court on Wednesday.Hislop, 53, pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching his extended supervision sentence and using indecent language, related to an encounter he had with two girls last week.

According to the police summary of facts, Hislop walked past the two girls, aged 12 and 13, on Otarawairere Beach at 1 pm and engaged them in a conversation about their schooling.

The girls felt uncomfortable so moved away, however, Hislop followed them, watching them from the tree-line while they swam.

After getting out of the water the two girls felt unsafe so decided to leave the beach via the bush track that leads to Ōhope's West End.

They stopped to grab sticks to "protect themselves" and one of the girls described feeling Hislop breathing on her shoulder.

Hislop followed the girls to the base of the track, stopping less than a metre away at which point he asked them "do you like sex?"

The girls replied, "What?" and Hislop is then said to have asked them "Do you want to have sex?"

After replying, "That's inappropriate" the girls walked in the opposite direction and sought assistance from other adults at the beach.

A convicted sex offender, Hislop served a five-year jail term for sexually attacking a 14-year-old girl in a Hamilton park and upon release moved to the Eastern Bay in 2009.

He fled after Brian Robinson, the then principal of Apanui School, notified parents that police had issued a notice that a sex offender had recently moved to the area.

Hislop lived in Whakatāne for only one week before threats prompted him to flee the district.

Senior Sergeant Al Fenwick said Hislop had a significant and "chequered" criminal history and offending in the Eastern Bay could be seen from 2017 to present.

"His actions are extremely worrying," he said. "The girls did the right thing in getting help from other people and calling the police.

"Kids need to know that when they feel uncomfortable in a situation like that they need to seek help from someone they trust or another adult. It could have been a lot worse," Mr Fenwick said.

Defence lawyer Caitlin Gentleman said Hislop agreed to the summary of facts but denied that he asked the girls, "Do you want to have sex?"

She said Hislop accepted that what he said was inappropriate and had been permitted by his probation officer to go to Otarawairere.

Judge Louis Bidois denied an application to continue name suppression, saying that the community deserved to know about potential risks.

- Whakatāne Beacon