KEY POINTS:
Police have warned Wellington principals of a paedophile seen hanging around schools in the region, but not all have chosen to pass the warning on to parents.
The paedophile, deported from Australia, has been seen near Wellington schools in recent months and some have issued fliers to alert parents about the man.
Johnsonville School and Redwood School in Tawa are among those schools who have warned parents.
"Police have advised schools that a known paedophile has returned to the Wellington area," Johnsonville School principal Warwick Austin wrote in a letter to parents last Friday.
The letter asked that anyone seen acting inappropriately in public places be reported to police. It did not name the paedophile.
The man, who has lived in Australia since 1969, has several convictions for indecently treating a child dating back to 2002.
He was returned to New Zealand last year after he was found to have a soundproof cell in his backyard, the Dominion Post reported.
Queensland police said he was known to wander around neighbourhoods carrying a kitten to attract attention and to watch children with binoculars.
After the man was seen hanging around Wellington's Ngaio School late last year, a police youth education officer emailed local principals with the man's description. Some schools then decided to alert parents.
Mr Austin said he discussed the matter with his board of trustees. "They agreed it would be wise for parents to be told."
Redwood School had sent a similar letter to parents, Mr Austin said.
Detective Senior Sergeant Simon Perry, of Wellington CIB, said police had visited several Wellington schools and had shown them the man's photograph. It was up to the schools to decide whether to notify parents. The man was not wanted for any offence.
Police powers to warn the public of a paedophile in the area are carefully controlled. In 2006, repeat child sex offender Barry Grant Brown won a $25,000 payout after a court ruled that police breached his privacy by delivering a leaflet warning residents that he had been freed.
- NZPA
