A child-molesting national snooker champion "appears more focused on his own comfort" than the impact on his victim, the Parole Board says.
Shannon Russell Swain, 35, was jailed for two years and one month when he was sentenced in the Invercargill District Court in November after pleading guilty to repeatedly groping a young girl over five years.
Swain won the New Zealand Billiards and Snooker Association national snooker championships in Gore in 2022.
Last month, his parole was declined after he was unable to explain why he committed the sex crimes, which resulted in him being labelled as "disgustingly toxic and evil" by the victim’s mother.
He met the criteria for specialist child-sex offender treatment but to do so, he would have to transfer from Invercargill Prison.
"Mr Swain is unmotivated to complete the programme because he does not wish to be away from his support people for eight months," panel convener Carolina Tiumalu said.
Despite that, the prisoner admitted he needed help.
However, Ms Tiumalu was critical of his level of remorse.
"The board observed Mr Swain appeared more focused on his own comfort than the needs of the victim and his risk to the community. The board put to Mr Swain the impact of his actions on the victim, which he acknowledged but had no explanation for," she said.
The court heard the man, who admitted a representative charge of doing an indecent act, had abused the victim at least six times between 2013 and 2018.
On one occasion, Swain molested her while they were in a vehicle with other people.
In a statement aired at sentencing, the victim said her abuser’s actions had robbed her of her childhood.
"It still haunts me every single day," she said.
Swain had put forward an address for release but the board said it was assessed as unsuitable because of its location.
Once he was released from prison, the victim sought an exclusion from both the Southland and Otago regions.
In a judgement released in May, the Court of Appeal rejected Swain’s challenge to the length of his sentence.
Parts of the sentencing judge’s approach were "extremely generous", the court ruled.
The credit Swain received for his lack of previous convictions and his fundraising efforts through snooker events was deemed fair.
He will next appear before the Parole Board in June next year — his sentence expires five months later.
