A sexual predator accused of trying to lure schoolgirls into performing inappropriate favours should never have been back on Christchurch's streets, a victim of the man says.
Leo Darin Goodwin, 53, was under a preventive detention order and has been recalled to prison after police charged him with breaching its conditions by approaching teenagers under the age of 16.
He brutally attacked Paula Hastings in the Waikato town of Te Aroha in 1996 after following her from a rugby prizegiving.
Goodwin was jailed for 12 years and released on parole in 2004. But only three months later, he attacked a 15-year-old schoolgirl in a similarly violent fashion.
He was sentenced to preventive detention for that offending, but was again granted parole in March 2023.
Police wrote letters to 11 schools in St Albans and Merivale earlier this month, warning them about a man approaching school girls and asking for inappropriate favours in exchange for money.
On Monday, police arrested and charged Goodwin.
Court documents showed a breach of his preventive detention order occurred on July 1.
Goodwin appeared in the Christchurch District Court on Tuesday, where he was remanded in custody.
Hastings told RNZ it was inevitable Goodwin would re-offend.
"I'm not surprised, to be fair. This is not his first recall on parole, so it doesn't surprise me that he has re-offended," she said.
"For me, it was just a matter of time before this was going to happen."
Goodwin was sentenced to two years' imprisonment in 1994 in Australia for threatening a random woman with a knife while attempting to sexually assault her.
He attacked Hastings before raping her soon after returning to New Zealand.
Goodwin was finally sentenced to preventive detention for sexually violating the 15-year-old school girl in 2004 as well as kidnapping and threatening to kill her.
After learning Goodwin had violated the girl, Hastings linked up with victim advocacy group the Sensible Sentencing Trust in an attempt to change the law.
"People in the wider community hear that word preventive detention. They see it as a lifetime sentence and they think that protects the community. But we find out that these offenders are given parole and this is his second parole on preventive detention," she said.
"Clearly he has a pattern that causes him to be recalled or arrested to prison. I just feel like we're not doing enough to protect future victims.
"How many victims do we say is enough before we say this person shouldn't be let out on the streets again."
The Department of Corrections confirmed Goodwin was granted parole in March 2023.
Police were first notified on August 4 of a man approaching school girls in the Merivale and St Albans area.
Several other approaches had since been reported.
Hastings said she had massive concerns he was able to move around freely in the community.
"This is not his first offence, nor his second, nor his third, nor his fourth ... so it just concerns me greatly the safety of any woman when he's around.
"I believe that preventive detention was designed to protect people from these kind of offenders."
She was also worried Goodwin could have committed further undisclosed attacks.
"We don't know what he's been up to and what he's been capable of doing. If he's hurt a young girl who is too scared to come forward, that's a massive concern for me," Hastings said.
"He's had many chances."
A pre-sentence report prepared for the 2006 sentencing found he had a "high risk of serious violent sexual re-offending".
Justice Cooper sentenced Goodwin to preventive detention because he was satisfied he was likely to re-offend if released.
"There is here an absence of, or failure of efforts to address the cause or causes of your offending and so in terms of all these statutory considerations, preventive detention appears to be the appropriate response," Justice Cooper said.
He concluded Goodwin was "likely to commit a further predatory sexual attack upon your release from a sentence of any finite term".
Corrections spokesperson Chris O'Brien-Smith said it applied to the Parole Board on Tuesday to recall Goodwin to prison for breaching his release conditions.
The Parole Board would determine whether a final recall is granted, O'Brien-Smith said.
"When an offender is granted parole by the New Zealand Parole Board they are required to comply with any conditions imposed by the board. Community Corrections staff actively manage the person's compliance with these conditions," she said.
"Public safety is our top priority and if an offender released on parole breaches their conditions, or poses an undue risk to the safety of the community, a probation officer or police officer can apply to the board to have them recalled to continue serving their sentence in prison."
Goodwin was due to reappear in court on September 17.
On Wednesday, the New Zealand Parole Board confirmed a hearing to determine Goodwin's final recall would be held a week later.
