Nyal Heke was released last month after originally being jailed for nearly a decade in 2018 on two counts of rape.
His term was increased to 11 years after an assault at the Otago Corrections facility a few months after the sex attack.
On November 3, 2017, Heke punched 47-year-old Grant Steven Bowden in the exercise yard, sending him crashing on to the concrete and leaving him in a critical condition.
Mr Bowden was left severely disabled and, 13 months after the assault, developed a chest infection, which ultimately led to his death.
At a hearing last month, the Parole Board heard Heke had completed specialist sex-offender treatment while behind bars, as well as engaging in more than 18 months of individual sessions with a psychologist.
Since May 2023, he had reduced his security status to low, lived in self-care units, gained employment outside the wire and undertaken guided releases in the community.
Panel convener Ann-Marie Beveridge said Heke had a "solid release proposal" and would continue to be supported by his psychologist.
"He was able to talk specifically about different tools and provide examples of how he has used them in the prison environment," Ms Beveridge said.
She determined Heke was no longer an undue risk of release, despite his sentence ending in February 2028.
The Dunedin District Court heard the man had been on parole in 2017 when he met a woman in town and invited her to go home with him.
When she refused, he followed her as she walked up High St and eventually forced her into a bushed walkway where he twice violated her.
Heke took the case to trial but the critical evidence came from his own words.
In the days after the rape, the victim’s online sleuthing led to her finding her attacker’s social-media page.
She sent him a message demanding an apology — and he duly provided one.
"I’m really sorry I won’t ever do [that] again," Heke responded.
The Parole Board previously heard he had similar previous convictions and last year he was assessed as a high risk of further violence and an above-average risk of sexual offending.
Ms Beveridge underscored the fact Heke had a "high reintegrative need".
As such, a progress hearing was scheduled for September.
