Policeman's wife outs paedophile

Colin Davies' sister Lorraine holds a rock thrown through a window of her house.

A police officer is being investigated over the public release of private information after his wife mounted a successful campaign to stop a paedophile moving into her Christchurch street.
Residents of Britannia St, in the Christchurch suburb of New Brighton, were celebrating yesterday after a proposal to house jailed sex offender Colin Trevor Davies at his sister's home was abandoned.

Davies' sister, Lorraine, withdrew her offer to let him live with her after saying she had faced threats and attacks on her home.

Without anywhere to put him, the Parole Board yesterday rejected his application for home detention.

The leaflet campaign against Davies living in the street was instigated by residents Selau Ifopo-Sumner and Mandy Karatau-Keightley. Ms Karatau-Keightley's husband is Canterbury policeman Geoff Keightley.

Canterbury police district commander Superintendent Sandra Manderson said an investigation had been launched into how the "pending release" of Davies had become public knowledge.

She said police adhered to strict codes of information privacy and if these were breached by an officer, disciplinary action was an option.

Mr Keightley and Ms Karatau-Keightley were not commenting yesterday, but a spokesman for Ms Ifopo-Sumner said information about the plan to house Davies in Britannia St came from friends, not from Mr Keightley.

He had deliberately been kept out of the campaign because of a potential conflict of interest, the spokesman said.

Davies' sister, who wanted to be known only as Lorraine, said she had withdrawn her offer to take her brother in because of her landlord's and residents' concerns, "but most of all for my own personal safety".

She said she had been the victim of threats and rocks had been hurled at her house.

"If he had been granted home detention, he would have been no risk to anyone," Lorraine said.

"I can understand [residents] are angry. They have a right to be angry.

"I hope when it all dies down we will be respectable neighbours to each other."

She still stood by her brother.

"I will still support him in every other way. He is my brother and I love him."

Davies was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for rape, sexual violation and indecent assault on a 10-year-old girl, and has other sex convictions. He is due to be released in February.

"As far as Mr Davies is concerned, putting aside the question of whether he would otherwise be eligible for home detention, the position now is that there is no home for Mr Davies to go to," the Parole Board said.

"The home proposed, that of his sister, is no longer considered suitable."

Resident Ana Penei, who lives with her partner and their 10-month-old daughter two houses away from Davies' sister, was relieved to hear he would not be living in her street.

"We were freaked out. We didn't know which side of us he was going to be on."

Resident Tony Weeks feared for his 9-year-old son if Davies had moved into the street.

"It's my right as a father and parent to stand up and say, 'No, this is not going to happen in this area'.

"We pay enough taxes during the year. They should put [the paedophiles] all on an island."