A Dunedin sex offender with a penchant for pre-pubescent boys has become the first person in the country to be subject to a public protection order (PPO).
The order is a restrictive measure reserved for only the most extreme cases where it is considered a person will almost certainly reoffend if released.
Glen Anthony Douglas (25) was jailed for three years before the Dunedin District Court after admitting two counts of sexual connection with a young person.
He was due to be freed from prison on August 29 but a couple of weeks earlier Corrections applied for the PPO, meaning Douglas was kept "under interim detention" at Otago Corrections Facility pending yesterday’s release of Justice Nicholas Davidson’s judgement.
The judge said he was persuaded, after considering evidence from health professionals and Corrections staff, that Douglas was too dangerous to be released from prison.
Defence counsel Sarah Saunderson-Warner argued her client would benefit more from being on an extended supervision order, meaning he would be intensively monitored while in the community.
But Justice Davidson disagreed and in the process made Douglas the first of his kind in New Zealand.
Being subject to a PPO will mean he is housed in a residence separate from the main prison, with its own secure perimeter fence.
Staff working at the residence will not be Corrections officers and conditions will be monitored by independent inspectors and the Ombudsman.
The application was brought before the High Court in Christchurch by Corrections because Douglas was considered such a high risk of "committing serious sexual offences against pubescent and pre-pubescent boys".
The court heard from expert health professionals who had assessed the prisoner and found him to exhibit impulsivity and a lack self-control.
Jayde Walker said Douglas "does not have the ability to self-regulate his sexual impulses".
Jonathan Todd-Downing said the man had a tendency to be fixated on sexual activity "and is driven in his planning, manipulation and circumvention of barriers to offending".
Those features had been present in the offending which had seen him locked up.
In 2013, Douglas contacted a 13-year-old boy through Facebook, changing his identity several times to evade the victim’s suspicious mother.
In June and July, he sexually offended against the boy — behind a garage and in a park — and the online contact continued.
It was only when the boy’s mother discovered the Facebook communications that she confronted Douglas and pushed him to confess to the police.
"The offending which resulted in Mr Douglas’ recent imprisonment is a major prompt for the applications made, but the evidence relevant to this judgement reaches back much further in his life," Justice Davidson said.
The court heard how he had a long history of inappropriate behaviour from early childhood.
"His sexualised behaviour with other children persisted despite supervision and having a teacher’s aide with him at all times."
And Douglas’ manipulative ways had continued even behind bars.
"He has tended to target younger and vulnerable prisoners ... he did not alter his behaviour despite repeated feedback from custodial staff and other prisoners," the judge said.
Douglas was kicked out of the Kia Marama specialist sex offender treatment programme because of his lack of progress, the court heard.
"The very idea of containment other than under sentence, albeit in purpose-built accommodation, is inherently troubling. It is reserved for those cases where there is really no option, to avoid the very high, serious and imminent risk posed by the individual," Justice Davidson said.
"Mr Douglas does pose that risk."
What is a PPO?
• A public protection order is made to protect the public from the worst violent or sexual offenders who present a very high risk of offending upon release and could not be safely managed in the community.
• When Parliament passed legislation, they expected it to be used only once every year or two.
• Individuals are housed separately from the main prison, with the residence having its own secure perimeter fence.
• Residents will not be able to leave except under escort and supervision for medical care and other approved absences such as court appearances.
• PPOs are reassessed annually.
