WARNING: This article discusses sexual assault and may be upsetting to some readers.
A man who sexually abused a young girl for six years and took photos of the acts has been told he is still not ready to be released.
In 2017, Paiea Shane Waihirere was sentenced in the Dunedin District Court to 12 and a half years in prison on an array of sex charges.
He remains eligible for parole but the Parole Board has already twice declined applications for release.
Last week, he appeared for the third time.
In a decision published after the hearing, panel convenor Neville Trendle said Waihirere had attended the medium-intensity programme for child sex offending since the board had last seen him.
While he did not formally graduate from the programme, he has been engaging with a psychologist, Trendle said in the decision.
“That would appear to be assisting Mr Waihirere with issues relating to his avoidance in the treatment group.”
Waihirere’s offending happened between 1999 and 2005, starting when the victim was just 9.
He would initially creep into her bedroom and perform indecent acts, later claiming she had been asleep throughout.
From 2002, the offending worsened, with him performing sex acts on the girl and forcing himself on her.
Waihirere confessed to police after his partner discovered what had happened and threatened to tell them.
Officers executed a search warrant at his home and confiscated electronic devices which showed he had taken photos of his abuse as it happened.
They also found 534 objectionable publications that the defendant had downloaded featuring girls between the ages of 3 and 15.
While Waihirere had completed treatment within the Kia Marama sex offender treatment environment, the next step was for him to be transferred to begin building plans for his release.
Upon release, Waihirere was proposing to transition to Hawke’s Bay where he was seeking supported accommodation.
Waihirere had accepted that he should not enter the areas in which his victim lived or moved.
“Notwithstanding he went to trial and appealed the result, he expressed strong remorse at his actions,” the decision said.
The board heard there was a need for Waihirere to develop his release plan.
“We invite his case manager to pursue whatever treatment opportunities are available, including ongoing association with any graduates group that may be available.”
Parole was declined and Waihirere was told to return to the board in 12 months, as the outstanding work would take some time.
Al Williams is an Open Justice reporter for the NZ Herald, based in Christchurch. He has worked in daily and community titles in New Zealand and overseas for the past 16 years. Most recently he was editor of the Hauraki-Coromandel Post, based in Whangamatā. He was previously deputy editor of the Cook Islands News.
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