Serial groper to be released again
Freedom for Jason Trembath who did indecent act while on parole
Repeat sexual offender Jason Trembath has won his bid for early prison release despite prior issues on parole including breaching conditions by going on Tinder and an arrest for an indecent act in a Rotorua car park.
The disgraced former senior representative cricket player, 35, was jailed for five years and four months in 2019 on 11 indecent assault charges and one of making and publishing an intimate visual recording.
It has been previously reported the assault charges stemmed from serial groping incidents in Rotorua, Hawke’s Bay and Havelock North between 2017 and 2019 that involved him running up to women, grabbing their private parts and running off again.
Trembath was paroled in 2021 but recalled nine days later after breaching his strict conditions by contacting women on Tinder.
He was back on parole when he was recalled again last March after an arrest for doing an indecent act in front of a “disgusted” international tourist he followed in The Warehouse Rotorua car park.
He tried to deny it to the Parole Board, which found his claim about examining a burst cyst and being “pretty sure” his privates were not exposed “utterly implausible”.
He later pleaded guilty to the indecent act and his jail term was extended by a year.
‘Finely balanced’ decision Trembath appeared before the Parole Board on March 13.
A written decision obtained by the Rotorua Daily Post confirmed his prison sentence was due to finish on New Year’s Eve.
The board decided to allow him to be released from prison on April 3 subject to a raft of strict conditions.
Trembath’s lawyer Steve Murchy told the Parole Board his client would not be working the long hours he had when on parole previously and would have regular treatment by a psychologist.
In a January psychologist’s report, Trembath was assessed as being of “average risk” of reoffending and no further treatment appeared to be recommended while in custody. A comprehensive safety plan was said to be in place for him, the decision said.
A recommendation to the board from a source whose name was withheld was that Trembath should be released and supported into the community to “consistently implement his skills” and this should include a “regular review” of his safety plan.
Other support had been arranged in the community and Trembath “now plans to be open and honest with his supporters”, which did not occur during his last parole.
The decision said the board questioned Trembath about why he committed his most recent offending and the safety plan.
“It appeared from what happened for Mr Trembath on parole that none of the obvious high-risk situations that led to his original offending had arisen for him.”
Trembath denied substance abuse and “sexual preoccupation” and stated he had not returned to gambling, the decision said.
Trembath said the key issue was he had put his safety plan to one side because he wanted to “move on” quickly. He was doing well for around 18 months before “drifting off” – “working too hard, reducing his family time and stopping going to the gym”.
Trembath told the board his offending arose as he was feeling “restricted” by his parole conditions and went out the night before with a friend who was a bad influence, and they had “unhealthy conversations about women”.
The board said it was concerning that this happened despite Trembath’s parole conditions, rehabilitation work and support available.
“While it is a finely balanced decision, we are satisfied that if Mr Trembath is released on parole for the remaining eight months of his sentence, he will not pose an undue risk to the safety of the community over that timeframe.”
It said that view assumed his strict compliance with parole conditions and honest relationships with his probation officer and supporters.
Details of where Trembath would be released and who he would live with were withheld in the decision. Trembath’s parole conditions Trembath’s conditions would include a 10pm to 6am curfew, allowing his use of any internet-capable device to be monitored, and a requirement to tell a probation officer about any intimate relationship.
He would also be banned from betting, gambling, contacting victims without permission and consuming or possessing alcohol and nonprescribed drugs – among other conditions.
His compliance with these conditions will be electronically monitored and Trembath was directed to attend a monitoring hearing in August.