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Home / New Zealand

'Beast of Blenheim' seeks judicial review

APNZ
13 Mar, 2012 06:55 AM4 mins to read

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File photo / NZ Herald

File photo / NZ Herald

A rapist and child abuser dubbed the "Beast of Blenheim" claims he has been allowed to see a psychologist for only 15 seconds a week for the 18 years he has been in jail.

Stewart Murray Wilson is seeking a judicial review against the Parole Board in the High Court at Wellington.

Wilson, now 65, was in 1996 sentenced to 21 years in jail for offences against women and children spanning 25 years, including rape, attempted rape, indecent assault, wilfully ill-treating a child and bestiality.

He became eligible for parole in December 2008 but the Parole Board put his final possible release date as September 1 this year, saying he was likely to reoffend if freed early.

It is his third application for a judicial review - the previous two having failed - and among his latest complaints is that one of the reasons the board denied him parole is his failure to co-operate with any treatment plans ordered by a board-appointed psychologist.

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Wilson, in a video conference at the court before Justice Forrie Miller, today claimed he had asked for help in 1997 but it was denied because he would not admit his guilt.

In his nearly 18 years in jail he had been seen by psychologists for a total of four hours, meaning he had received help for only one minute a month, or 15 seconds a week, he claimed.

Wilson claimed the psychologist who had assessed him for the past two years "could appear to have a slight bias" against him.

The psychologist most recently assessed him as being four times more likely to sexually reoffend than the average person.

She said in her report to the board Wilson had taken no steps to address his offending or to manage his risk of reoffending, and believed his engagement with her to be "superficial".

Wilson today said the board had blamed him for not undertaking counselling "but it was their ruling and their judgement not to allow him to have treatment".

Justice Miller asked Crown counsel Rachael Hoare, who is acting for the Parole Board, to have Wilson's 1997 report ready for his next appearance in two weeks' time.

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That would also give Wilson time to find a lawyer; previous counsel Andrew McKenzie has not responded to Wilson's repeated attempts to contact him.

Wilson told Justice Miller he would like to be represented by Peter Williams, QC, but was not sure whether legal aid would "run to" that.

"Mr Williams has offered to assist me, both with any legal issues and with reintegration," Wilson said.

Wilson has previously refused to tell the board where he will go when he is released, saying he has 72 hours after release to give them an address.

Today he said a person who had done their time had to be "allowed to live their life without hindrance", and that his elderly mother was harassed every time there was a media write-up. He wanted future board decisions suppressed.

"I've been classified as high-profile in the media," he said.

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"It would be better for me to have a quiet release without any media palaver."

But Justice Miller said it was in the public interest to know where someone at high risk of reoffending was.

"I'm not in a position to make orders against the whole world that they leave you alone," he said.

Wilson's latest Parole Board hearing was to be held today, but was delayed for 10 days because the board did not receive the relevant paperwork in time. Wilson said he would challenge the legality of the delay because it was outside the six-month limit.

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