KEY POINTS:
A convicted paedophile says he was able to offend prolifically because parents were ignorant of the dangers facing their children.
The man who abused 40 children over decades in swimming pools, mall and on public transport, spoke to The Dominion Post to help parents be more vigilant to the risks posed by men like him.
He said he was surprised by a lot of the things he got away with and said society's reluctance to discuss sex and sexual offending made it easier to abuse.
Police asked the man to speak out, hoping if he explained the way he thought it would help parents be aware.
"People need to realise that there's no stereotype ," said Detective Sergeant Tusha Penny, head of the Lower Hutt child abuse team.
"People are calling for the Government to do more, but at the end of the day, it is a parent's responsibility to keep their children safe."
The paedophile said he manipulated his victims into keeping quiet by telling them it was a "naughty game" and making them part of the guilty secret.
He thinks he got away with it because parents expected paedophiles to wear trenchcoats, be old, bald and only like girls.
He said the single most important way parents could protect their children way by paying them attention.
He thought GPS trackers and regular visits to known paedophiles by police would make a difference in keeping children safe.
Ms Penny said paedophiles targeted parents as much as children, with most abused children sexually assaulted by people they knew, and whom their parents trusted.
She said parents had to take responsibility for who they let into their children's lives.
The paedophile said parents should be suspicious of men who wanted to play with their child.
He said swimming pools should have under-12 changing areas and there should be CCTV cameras outside public toilets and in malls.
Parents should realise that when they were in public their children were not safe, he said.
- NZPA
