Strangers could be a danger for Wilson

Did I say "I told you so?"

Two weeks ago, I wrote in my column that the only good thing about the Stewart Wilson release plan was that, despite our abhorrence of his crimes, we would at least know exactly where he is - this being preferable to having him out there somewhere, unwatched and anonymously creating more victims.

I noted that all communities have sex offenders targeting vulnerable children and women while carefully concealing their crimes from prying eyes. When they get caught, people say: "How did that happen without anybody noticing?"

The past few days have seen the unmasking of two such offenders. One, a deputy principal of a school, the other a conniving and cunning person working in schools who went to great lengths to hide his real identity and intentions within a complex web of deceit. Both these offenders were well regarded by their communities, had considerable status and worked in positions of trust. Both had successfully camouflaged their behaviours over a period of time. The elaborate scheming to avoid detection of sexual abuse is often very clever, requiring considerable planning and forethought. There may be intelligence and foresight but no insight.

Warnings about "Stranger Danger" would not have protected their victims. They were not strangers to their victims. Research has clearly shown that most sexual offending is by people who are well-known to their victims. Offending includes sexual aggression to girlfriends and partners, sexual abuse of children and the intimidation of inexperienced young people into unwanted sexual behaviours. All these can be called rape.

The word rape is suddenly everywhere in the world media as two high-profile politicians, one in the US, the other in Britain, attempt to re-define rape as some form of sexual error rather than a serious breach of a person's right to say no. If these comments had not been said with such serious intent it would be easy to shrug them off but trying to minimise the meaning of a word such as rape is an obvious power play.

The current hysteria about Wilson being housed near Whanganui is a massive distraction from the task of watching over the safety of the children in our community. In a news item, I heard someone blaming the police for not catching the offenders in Northland much earlier. Apparently this made the police responsible for the continued offending - not the perpetrator. This is clearly ridiculous.

The offender, tearful in the dock, was contrite about his behaviours but he did not stop or seek assistance at any time. The business of blaming various sectors is simply playing the same game as many offenders. In a previous working life as a social worker in a prison, I interviewed many sex offenders and their propensity for casting blame for their actions on to others, their victims and, on occasions, their religious beliefs is astonishing. Remorse is never a comfortable fit for such offenders. Remorse might mean surrendering a whole carefully constructed fa?ade that has been cemented together with a perverse logic.

The word out there is that someone, propelled by the emotion-laden situation, is likely to attack Wilson and kill him. This would be a huge mistake. Revenge is never the same as resolution and the killer would themselves become another victim of Wilson's behaviour. Judging by the level of vitriol directed at him, Wilson will be very worried about the danger of a stranger.

Terry Sarten lives in Whanganui and describes himself as a parent, writer, social worker and musician. Feedback email: tgs@inspire.net.nz