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Warning: This article discusses sexual assault and may be distressing.
Minister Kelvin Davis has hit out at Corrections over the “unacceptable” circumstances which allowed a prisoner to escape and rape a member of the public.
And Corrections itself has offered an apology for its failings, saying it wanted to make a further face-to-face to the man’s victim once he is sentenced.
Damon John Exley was found guilty in the High Court at Wellington yesterday of abduction for the purpose of sexual connection, assault with a weapon and sexual violation by rape.
Davis told the Herald no escape from prison was acceptable.
Corrections’ deputy national commissioner Brigid Kean said in a statement the department acknowledged “the significant harm and distress caused to the survivor as a result of this person’s horrific reoffending”.
Kean said the escape “should never have been able to occur and we take full responsibility for the failings that led to it”.
“Our thoughts are also with those who have been harmed by his previous offending as this will have also been incredibly distressing for them.”
Kean said once Exley was sentenced, the department would offer the survivor of his offending the opportunity to “meet with us if she wishes, so that we can apologise to her personally, discuss the findings of our reviews and answer any questions she may have”.
“We believe this is the right thing to do before publicly releasing the reports. Following this, we will look to release the two reports publicly as soon as we are able to.”
Kean said Corrections had made “significant operational and security improvements since this escape”.
These included closing the area Exley was working in and escaped from, improving the selection process for inmates working at Rimutaka Prison, and improving the procedures for the operation of the emergency entrance points and southern perimeter gates at Rimutaka Prison.
“New Zealanders rely on us to securely manage prisoners and they are right to want assurances we will keep them safe. Public safety is our top priority, and we are absolutely committed to preventing a similar event from ever occurring again.”
Exley has been convicted twice for similar offending, once in 2000 and again in 2005. On those occasions, he had abducted female real estate agents and threatened them with an air rifle and a steak knife respectively.
The survivor told the courtroom earlier this week she was driving home to Feilding from Wellington she picked up the escaped prisoner, who was hitchhiking.
She said he then produced a large kitchen knife he had stolen after his escape from Rimutaka Prison two days prior and told her he was going to have sex with her.
She then drove to a cemetery, where he raped her before the pair drove to Masterton.
In Masterton, the complainant went into a laundromat to dry the prisoner’s rain-soaked clothing, where she found someone who could call the police for her. The escapee was arrested shortly afterwards.
Katie Harris is an Auckland-based journalist who covers social issues including sexual assault, workplace misconduct, crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2020.
Sexual harm - Where to get help
If it’s an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111. If you’ve ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7:
For more info or to web chat visit safetotalk.nz. Alternatively contact your local police station - click here for a list. If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it’s not your fault.
