Dangerous paedophile 'in contact with boys'

By CATHERINE MASTERS AND EUGENE BINGHAM

A man regarded as one of New Zealand's most dangerous child sex abusers has been under investigation for having contact with a boy at a South Auckland community.

Peter Douglas Liddell has 17 convictions for sex crimes against children committed over 20 years.

He caused outrage in the community of Grahams Beach on the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour when residents discovered his past by accident.

They had not been told the man living in a bach overlooking the sea was a paedophile.

Last night, the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services confirmed it had investigated sightings of Liddell at a beach with a boy.

Though social workers do not believe he sexually abused the boy, a department spokeswoman said, they were monitoring the situation closely.

Weekend Herald investigations have discovered other concerns about sightings of Liddell with children.

The former social worker and King's College guidance counsellor was released from prison in 1998 after serving four years of a sentence of seven years and nine months for sex crimes against four boys.

His parole period ran out last year, meaning the state now has no official right to supervise him.

The Grahams Beach reaction follows outrage in Palmerston North about a man who returned to the city last week after completing a sentence for raping a two-year-old.

A Weekend Herald investigation into the extent of child sexual abuse has found the Palmerston North man is one of 250 paedophiles who will be freed this year.

Justice Minister Phil Goff said this week that Liddell was an example of cases in which high-risk offenders should be supervised for 10 years after their release.

Told about Liddell's circumstances, Mr Goff said: "That's the difficulty that we are trying to combat with the extended sentence."

Liddell told the Weekend Herald yesterday that he had been open with authorities about his whereabouts.

"The police know where I live," he said. "I'm still in contact with my probation officer, even though my probation is long, long gone.

"I don't want to go backwards, I want to go forwards. I need history to be history. I have done my very best."

He strongly denied ever having any unsupervised contact with children.

Liddell lived in Waiuku after his release from jail but now has two addresses, one in Manurewa and one at Grahams Beach.

Schools in Manurewa were told about his presence in the neighbourhood.

But Eric Taylor, principal of Awhitu School not far from the Grahams Beach bach, said he and his staff were not told about Liddell's past when he moved to the area.

The community discovered who he was only when he bought a car from a resident and his name was recognised from the change-of-ownership papers.

The school warned parents in its newsletter to beware, but Mr Taylor said he was alarmed someone with Liddell's record could slip into a community without it being told.

"If the parents are aware and the parents are on guard and they find out exactly where the danger spots are and all that sort of stuff, that's all we can do."

A resident of Grahams Beach said he was shocked to discover the man who had been friendly and pleasant was a paedophile.

"He had sucked us in fairly well. I'm disgusted, naturally."

The man said he had seen Liddell several months ago on three different occasions with three different boys but thought nothing of it because he did not know who he was.

Liddell had introduced one boy as a neighbour from Manurewa and another as the nephew of a man called "Dave" living on the property with Liddell.

The man said he had also seen Liddell at the local shops with a little Asian boy.

"If I saw him again I would call the cops."

He said Liddell did not go out very often and seemed to be trying to avoid people.

"The cops have had a talk to him. He's been warned that people are watching him."

He said he had warned his grandchildren, who visit him.

His wife said: "It's not quite the same for us to just let the kids go off down the beach alone. Now we go with them and don't let them out of sight."

* Email Catherine Masters