Probation error sees detention sentence served in home of prolific crim

Photo / file

A woman who was ordered to stay out of Hawke's Bay during a 10-month home-detention sentence imposed a week before Christmas has been bunking-down at the home of a prolific criminal near Napier after an apparent gaffe by a probation officer.

Appearing in Napier District Court on December 18 for sentence on blackmail, kidnapping and robbery charges, Sara Jane Skeet, 54, was granted home detention to an address outside of Hawke's Bay.

But the address soon became unsuitable, and a Corrections officer approved a change of address for her to live at the Eskdale home of Brian Damien Hunter.

During the past 40 years Hunter has served time in jail for a sex offence and for most of his 180-plus fraud-related convictions. In December, he ended a five-month home detention sentence imposed in July for obtaining by deception.

Details emerged when Skeet appeared in court on Wednesday and yesterday for an application to vary bail conditions on a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice. She is due to appear on that charge on January 30. She has a March appearance for the hearing of an application to review her current sentence.

Bail was granted yesterday by Judge Geoff Rea. He approved another address outside Hawke's Bay, and again Skeet was ordered to stay out of Hawke's Bay, apart from court appearances and specifically approved visits to her mother. She is prohibited from staying in Hawke's Bay overnight.

Defence counsel Cliff Church, however, believes the probation officer who signed off on the address transfer had made the decision in full knowledge of his client's bail conditions.

He said on Wednesday that Skeet had not known until that day her bail bond precluded her living in Hawke's Bay.

Outside court Skeet and Hunter made every effort to conceal their faces from media cameras. Hunter later took offence at being pursued by media and chased one photographer down the street.

The situation was defused by court security staff before both Skeet and Hunter left in the same vehicle, Skeet having been ordered to reach her new address last night.

The Corrections Department is understood to be investigating how its officer granted Skeet approval to live back in Hawke's Bay, and at the address of a prolific criminal. A communications staff member said last night: "We aren't able comment on the management of individual offenders."