Recidivist sex offender denied parole

File photo / APN

A Whangarei man jailed indefinitely for predatory sex offences against women has been denied parole, partly because he is not rehabilitated.

Frederick John Nash, 52, was sentenced to preventive detention in the High Court at Whangarei on December 15, 2008, after pleading guilty to male assaults female, breaching bail and three charges of indecent assault.

The police summary of facts for the case said that on December 11, 2007, Nash approached an 18-year-old woman in the Rose St bus terminal and told her his girlfriend had been killed in a street fight after her throat was slit. Nash said he was a martial arts expert and sidled up to her as she sat. The woman was too terrified to move and was also unsure if Nash had a knife. Nash touched the woman's chest and took his hands away only when a member of the public turned up.

While on bail for that offence, Nash indecently assaulted another woman in Whangarei.

Nash has 25 criminal convictions, including five for indecent assaults on females. Preventive detention is an indeterminate sentence imposed on high-risk offenders who are not released as long as they are considered a risk to the community.

At the time of Nash's sentencing, Justice Christopher Allan said Nash showed a "complete inability to recognise your risk to young women".

"The way you react to treatment and programmes will determine your release. Your future is in your hands," Justice Allan said.

He said Nash had deliberately targeted young women in public places. "You have little insight into your offending and the effect it has on the victims."

Nash applied for parole and after a hearing earlier this month the Parole Board has released its decision denying him parole, saying he has had 28 individual psychological counselling sessions with limited gain.

The Parole Board said a report in May painted a gloomy picture of Nash, who attempted to minimise his offending.

The report found Nash has poor impulse control and little insight into his offending and his version of the events were "very unreliable". He has not been able to cease his sexually motivated and intimidating predatory behaviour.

The board said Nash appeared to be a poor candidate for psychological interventions.