Tight controls set for sex predator
A child sex offender with a proclivity for entering stranger’s houses may soon be released from custody but will be under intensive monitoring on prison land for one year due to his high risk of reoffending.
Tommy Apera Pori, 56, was born in the Cook Islands and committed a number of sexual offences there before moving to New Zealand in 2005. Early the following year he had unlawful sexual connection with a 9-year-old girl. He was jailed for five years.
In 2011 Corrections obtained an extended supervision order for 10 years. Since then Pori has breached the order several times and has been convicted of serious violent offences.
In May last year a health assessment of Pori was prepared. The writer’s interviews with Pori all ended prematurely ‘‘due to safety concerns’’, so the report was largely based on file information.
Pori minimised his sexual offending and was ‘‘highly sexually preoccupied and compulsive’’, the report writer said.
‘‘He has demonstrated a preparedness to invade people’s homes with the intention of finding a victim despite others being in close proximity,’’ the report stated.
Pori had failed to complete psychological treatment in prison and he presented a very high risk of committing further sexual offending. ‘‘Based on his history this could range from indecent assault to rape, of young girls or adult females,’’ the report said.
Last month Corrections applied to the High Court at Hamilton for intensive monitoring as a special condition of the extended supervision order.
Intensive monitoring requires an offender to be accompanied and monitored, for up to 24 hours a day, by an approved person for up to a year.
In granting the application Justice Ailsa Duffy noted Pori’s offending ‘‘which typically involves invading his victim’s bedroom at night, has characteristics that are sufficiently prevalent and common as to provide a reliable predictor of relevant future conduct’’.
Pori’s latest offending occurred in 2016 when he believed his female neighbour wanted to have sex with him. He entered her home by the back door but she was alerted by a barking dog.
Pori’s extended supervision is now not due to expire until October 2024. The date of Pori’s release is yet to be determined.
A Corrections spokesman said that when Pori was released from prison he would reside in accommodation on prison land.
As at January 11, there were 199 offenders living in the community subject to an extended supervision order. Eight are subject to intensive monitoring.