Sex offenders out of motels

The Ministry of Social Development has faced questioning over placing vulnerable families alongside child-sex offenders in motels.

A repeated failure to ensure families with children were not being housed in motels alongside child-sex offenders has beleaguered the ministry (MSD) and Corrections since mid-2017.

At a parliamentary select committee yesterday, ministry executives gave MPs assurances the issue was in hand and that Corrections had endeavoured to no longer place child-sex offenders in motels.

National Party social development spokeswoman Louise Upston said the repeat instances – which included MSD placing families in motels where offenders resided – were ‘‘completely unacceptable’’.

Documents released to Stuff in October showed Corrections and MSD started working on a new system for dealing with released prisoners in emergency housing after two incidents in mid-2017 highlighted the need for better co-ordination.

In August, Stuff revealed a notorious child-sex offender, subject to a 10-year extended supervision order, was housed in a Palmerston North motel alongside 16 vulnerable families with 41 children.

The 66-year-old, who has interim name suppression, was taken into custody on July 26 amid fears he had abused some of the children in the nearly three months he lived there. A police investigation found no evidence of criminal offending.

Last week, Corrections national deputy commissioner Andy Milne said a list of motels used to house high-risk offenders was given to the ministry on July 30.

But in mid-August officials found vulnerable families living at two motels with child-sex offenders.

‘‘Why have there still been incidents this year . . . Why is it that, two weeks later, MSD still had families with children in those same motels?’’ Upston said.

Deputy chief executive Viv Rickard confirmed data matching began on July 30, and after two weeks it was identified two sex offenders were in motels with families.

Ministry chief executive Brendan Boyle said in one instance the department placed someone in a motel in early May, only to subsequently discover information showing the person had a history of childsex offending. ‘‘Yes, the information fell through the cracks and we should have done better.’’

Ministry officials confirmed the departments had been sharing information since July 2017 but a memorandum of understanding was formalised only in October.

Since July, Corrections had committed to not placing sex offenders in motels, and the development of a residential village on Rimutaka Prison land ‘‘was part of that response’’, he said. ‘‘At the end of the day it is Corrections’ responsibility, it has been agreed ... they take accountability for placing people once they exit prison.’’