Offender sought rest homes
Sex offender Grant Hannis has been described as the driving force behind his band travelling miles for retirement home gigs.
Hannis, a now-former associate professor of journalism at Massey University, was sentenced to eight months of home detention in late January for indecently assaulting an 82-yearold stroke victim in a rest home. That sentence has now ended.
Hannis served his home detention at his Waikanae, Ka¯piti, home which has spent months being landscaped and had a swimming pool landscaper working at the site. He would not come to the door when Stuff visited this week but, from the depths of his home, through an open door, would only call out: ‘‘Please go away.’’
Don Franks, Hannis’ former band mate in the eight-piece group City Jazz, said he first heard of Hannis’ secret on January 26, 2019, when he read about it in The Dominion Post.
Franks said the benefit of hindsight suggested there were clues – though no hard evidence – dotted through the band’s recent history.
Hannis’ offending was in May 2018 and he was arrested soon after. In the eight months before sentencing, his band mates were in the dark about the offending.
Franks believed Hannis came to lead the band quite ‘‘forcefully’’ and would get what he wanted.
One of those things was his insistence on playing a lot of retirement homes. They were gigs where there was little pay, there was often a lot of travel, and it wasn’t unheard of for the audience to be asleep.
Hannis was only charged with the one assault but police have since confirmed there was a second complaint about him but no prosecution ‘‘due to a number of circumstances’’.
The band’s Facebook page shows the band – often featuring Hannis in full flight – at numerous rest homes around the Wellington region.
Court records show the offence Hannis was convicted for was in May 2018 and he was arrested soon after. After an initial procedural court appearance, he appeared in Wellington District Court on October 2018 and indicated he was going to defend the charges at trial.
A trial would have likely not have happened till mid-2019 but then he got a sentencing indication, pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to eight months’ home detention in January 2019.
Franks said he and his band mates knew nothing of it till name suppression was lifted and they read about it in media reports.
Hannis cut ties with his band mates at the end of July 2018, citing mental health reasons, Franks said.
This was when he had been charged but was planning to defend himself in court. That would have meant his name would have likely stayed suppressed and, with a court case months off, he would have likely been free to travel.
In late September, he told band mates that he could play an Art Deco Weekend gig in mid February 2019 in Hawke’s Bay.
‘‘If he got name suppression [continued], he would have got away with the whole bloody shebang,’’ Franks said.
Massey University, postsentencing, said Hannis told nobody at Massey he was being prosecuted and staff only heard of it after he had stopped teaching, in October 2018.
‘‘Dr Hannis should have told his manager about the charge he was facing as soon as it was laid so that Massey could have considered his employment position.
‘‘That would have included options such as suspension from work and ending his contact with students, as well as providing necessary support to students and staff.’’