The victim of former policeman and convicted pack rapist Brad Shipton is unhappy two of his special parole conditions have been wiped.
Shipton lost his bid to have all parole conditions removed but two - prohibition on talking publicly about the case and a ban on contacting his co-offenders - were cancelled by the Parole Board.
Shipton was released on parole from Wanganui prison in November 2008 after serving three years and five months of his 8-year sentence for the pack rape of a 20-year-old woman at Mount Maunganui beach hut in 1989.
The woman was raped by police officers Shipton and Bob Schollum and Tauranga millionaire Peter McNamara after she was lured to the hut on the pretext of a lunch date with one of the men.
The trio were convicted and jailed in 2005. All three men were paroled in 2008.
Shipton's sentence is due to end on January 3, 2014, but this year he applied to the Parole Board to be discharged from all his parole conditions.
The Parole Board released its written decision yesterday after a special hearing with Shipton in February and a meeting with his victim alone this month.
Shipton argued the restraints of parole were unnecessary and not required for the safety of the community, and onerous, particularly in respect to him being able to "obtain employment, undertake a normal life and remain under the radar of media attention''.
The report revealed Shipton was employed until late last year when the business he was working at was closed down and he had been unable to get full-time work since. Reporting every 10 working days to a probation officer added to those employment difficulties, Shipton said.
The Probation Service opposed the application, as did Shipton's victim.
The board declined to remove the conditions to report every 10 days, not to contact the victim and to reside at an approved address, stating they were necessary to reassure the victim and the community and protect the integrity of the sentence. However, it agreed to removing the ban on talking publicly about the case and contacting his co-offenders.
The victim had herself approached the media and had the benefit of a permanent suppression order, while Shipton had already been in contact with one of the co-offenders after gaining written permission of the probation officer. Therefore it was "difficult to see a rationale for this condition so long after the offending''.
These two changes come into force on Friday.
Shipton assured the Parole Board that he would not contact the victim or anyone associated with her, and would never be dealing with a book about the topic.
He also told the board that he did not wish to have any further media coverage as it hurt him and his family. The rest of Shipton's parole conditions remain in force until January 3, 2014.
The victim's plea to the Parole Board was for all the parole conditions to remain in place until 2014, saying she needed time to prepare herself for that day.
Shipton's victim said last night that she was not happy but accepted the Parole Board was in a difficult position.
"I think the board was in a rock and hard place and took a bob each way approach, which was way better than nothing. It's far better than if he got a total release from his parole which I would have been really angry and upset about.''
The woman said Shipton's comments about wanting to move on and start to lead a "normal life'' were insulting.
"I say what's abnormal about what he's doing now? He's living with a partner, he's got a roof over his head and unfortunately he lost his job before Christmas but he has the opportunity to work and earn a good living. He's got a pretty damn good life, better than most people from where I'm sitting.
"At the end of the day, the condition of him having to report every 10 days is absolutely necessary and so is him living at an approved address also absolutely necessary, but if wants to associate with the others [his co-offenders] I say good luck to him.''
She said Shipton's promise about not wanting to talk to the media and having no interest in a book deal didn't "mean jack'' as he could not be trusted.
- Sandra Conchie of the Bay of Plenty Times
