A Dunedin recidivist child abuser has opted to stay in prison rather than receive treatment for his offending or be released early with parole conditions.
Graeme Murray Purvis (47), of Dunedin, was jailed for three years in 2009 for possessing, making and distributing images of child sexual abuse and rape, and attempting to sexually groom a vulnerable teenage girl.
He has a statutory release date of March 17. It is his third stint in jail for child pornography or sexual abuse related offences since 2002, and on the first two occasions he breached release conditions by contacting a young person when prohibited and accessing the internet.
In a June New Zealand Parole Board decision, the board noted an extended supervision order should be considered as "he is somebody who is clearly in need of treatment to reduce his risk of reoffending".
Extended supervision orders are imposed to manage the risk of child sex offenders residing in the community, and may be imposed by the court for a maximum term of 10 years.
Purvis was assessed as being a medium/high risk under the automated sexual recidivism scale.
He indicated in an earlier parole assessment report he did not want to undertake rehabilitation to address his offending, and preferred to remain in prison to complete his sentence rather than be released on conditions.
Treatment at intensive programmes for child sexual offenders, such as Kia Marama at Rolleston Prison in Christchurch, has been shown to more than halve reoffending rates.
A New Zealand Parole Board spokeswoman said it was more common for offenders to participate in rehabilitation and for them to be released on parole as "we have the ability to manage them".
The Parole Board can set standard or special release conditions for a prisoner who has a sentence of two years or more. The conditions last for up to six months after the prisoner's sentence end date. Prisoners who serve their full sentence cannot be recalled to prison. However, a released prisoner who fails to comply with release conditions can be charged and faces up to 12 months in jail.
A Department of Corrections spokesman said in some cases probation officers would notify specified members of the community that a child sex offender was being released in their neighbourhood.
"The process assists community members to be more aware of the management of child sex offenders in the community, and precautions they can take to keep their children safe from child sex offending in general."
Their name or address would not identified, he said.
Police seized Purvis' computer and memory stick in September 2008, and found more than 3000 pictures, 212 videos and 92 written texts or stories, most of them objectionable.
Images and personal details of girls from the Dunedin area, obtained from social networking sites, were also discovered.
Some still pictures involved babies younger than 1, with videos showing a range of child abuse including the rape of children and bestiality.
Overseas authorities alerted the Department of Internal Affairs after Purvis supplied material to a covert identity.
He was also sentenced for the attempted sexual grooming of a 15-year-old girl.
