Mayor urges dialogue on paedophile village
Upper Hutt mayor Wayne Guppy has called for calm after it was revealed a child sex offender village has been set up in the city, north of Wellington.
The plan to host up to 11 paedophiles within the grounds – but outside the wire – at Rimutaka Prison has drawn ire from the local community who became aware of the situation earlier last week.
Guppy, who was first notified of the facility’s existence ‘‘midweek’’, understood the community’s concerns but urged residents to be patient and to listen to what the Department of Corrections had to say.
‘‘Any issue like this is going to be emotive but it’s about getting all the facts and actually seeing what’s going to occur. That’s the key to the whole thing.’’
Corrections’ national commissioner Rachel Leota believed her team had strong existing relationships with the invested parties, including schools, local MPs, community groups and residents, who were all welcome to discuss their concerns.
She reaffirmed that Corrections had been in touch with 21 schools and had provided information to more than 40 early childhood centres in Upper Hutt and Stokes Valley with assurances that offenders were being managed effectively.
‘‘[We have] offered to meet with anyone with concerns [and] we met with several early learning centres during the week at their request. We’ve also advised local community leaders and police,’’ Leota said.
‘‘We are also very keen to hear from people in the community with ideas about accommodating offenders in the future.’’
Guppy was in agreement, and open to hearing his constituents’ concerns. He had, however, only heard from one person since the village became public knowledge.
‘‘My understanding is that [Corrections] has already met with some groups already which is the right thing to be doing.
‘‘They’ll be making sure the community understands it from their point of view.’’
Guppy had agreed to meet up with one concerned mother next week to hear her qualms and said he would be proactive in his approach to discussing the situation more widely.
‘‘I’ll be discussing with people the fact that if they [sexual offenders] are not on prison grounds, they’ll be in the community ... so this is the best scenario. They’ll be monitored and not just be in the community.’’
While accusations of secrecy and calls for harsher restrictions on child sex offenders – some violent – swirled on social media, Guppy was confident the situation could be resolved with open dialogue between all those affected.
It’s not the first time Corrections has faced backlash for its accommodation choices with a review under way into the use of motels as emergency accommodation for high-risk offenders.
The announcement came after
Stuff revealed convicted child sex offender Ronald Jeffries, 65, was placed in a motel in the lower North Island by the probation service after residents flagged concerns about his community-based accommodation. Jeffries, who was subject to a 10-year extended supervision order after a lifetime of sexual offending, was arrested last month for alleged breaches of the order and has been recalled to prison.