KEY POINTS:
George Darren Cant has got the open-ended jail term the Crown says is necessary to protect the community from his repeated offending, including sexual attacks on adults and children.
In the High Court at Christchurch yesterday, Justice John Hansen imposed preventive detention on the 39-year-old who now has
133 convictions.
Crown prosecutor Jane Farish had sought the penalty after Cant's latest convictions at a January trial, when he was convicted of three sex offences on a prison visitor who befriended him.
Even after the trial he is still denying the offences of assault with intent to commit sexual violation, sexual violation by digital penetration, and indecent assault.
Reports from a psychologist and a psychiatrist said Cant was a continuing high-risk offender, even though defence counsel Tim Fournier indicated there was some progress in his latest course in the Kia Marama programme at prison for sex offenders.
Justice Hansen noted that the offending against the children appeared to include elements of revenge.
The woman victim attacked by Cant told the court she had felt deeply betrayed by Cant's behaviour.
"His offending has affected my basic trust in people. The sexual abuse has been so severe that I'll never be the same person again."
She paid tribute to the police and the prosecutor who had handled the case.
"When you have been manipulated so much there is a sense that you don't really deserve justice. I am grateful to the justice system we have ... because it is finally giving me some closure."
Imposing the sentence, Justice Hansen told Cant: "The risk of continued serious offending by you is high, and this court must consider the protection of the public from that offending."
He set a minimum non-parole period of six years.
But he also took note of Cant's dysfunctional background.
"It is hard to think of anyone who has had a more awful life than yours."
He spent his childhood in various institutions, including the St John of God Marylands School.
"You became a victim of one or more of the Catholic brothers and you were violently and sexually abused while you were there. It's obviously had an impact on you."
Cant was now assessed as having post traumatic stress disorder, which had not been treated.
"Since you were 15, you have spent most of your time in prison. You have abused drugs and alcohol. You have engaged in a number of programmes over the years, none of which have prevented the recidivism."
His record of offending included an indecent assault on a male in 1993 while in prison, sexual offending involving children, sexual assaults on the woman, an aggravated assault, many burglaries, and threatening to kill.
The two health assessors warned of a risk of violence if Cant encountered householders while carrying out burglaries.
- NZPA
