Soon to be released child abductor’s psychological treatment left unfinished, Parole Board unsure why

Brendan Paul Henson is serving an eight-year sentence for the February 2016 snatching of a girl, Photo / NZME

By RNZ

The Parole Board says it is in the dark about why a man who abducted a 5-year-old girl off the street in Palmerston North and indecently assaulted her is no longer getting psychological treatment behind bars.

Brendan Paul Henson is serving an eight-year sentence for the February 2016 snatching of the girl, who was on her way to school.

Henson, 54, drove her out of town and offended against her, before dropping her on the opposite side of Palmerston North from where he took her.

Henson became eligible for parole in 2021 after serving five years, but did not seek an early release at his latest hearing before the Parole Board at Whanganui Prison in May.

According to a board report released to RNZ, Henson had, since his previous hearing in 2022, 25 sessions with a psychologist. But they had finished for reasons not stated, leaving board members “in the dark”.

The board asked Henson the reasons preventing him from making further progress.

Brendan Paul Henson is led into the dock at Palmerston North District Court. Photo / Mark Mitchell

“He was unable to explain what they were in a way that we were able to understand,” the report said.

“He firstly said that the barriers were how he has been living his life. He also said that he is confident he is not going to reoffend again.”

The board did not agree, saying Henson posed a high risk of reoffending until he completed treatment and developed a safety plan - a document prisoners seeking parole use to identify risks stemming from their offending that might arise when they are released, and how they handle them.

He told the board he was willing to start treatment again, and he was disappointed it stopped because he felt he was making progress.

Henson’s lawyer Debbie Goodlet said he was not seeking parole and needed to do more work before he was released. This included more work on his release plan and “tapping into support in the community”.

Henson did not yet have a home organised for his release, although a friend had alluded to the “possibility of accommodation and work at a rural location”.

His jail sentence ends in February, but Goodlet said authorities were applying for an extended supervision order, which could impose conditions on Henson for up to 10 years after his release.

“Goodlet also said that she had applied through legal aid for funding to enable Henson to complete his safety plan with a psychologist,” the report said.

The board said it was important that an updated risk assessment, which included identifying treatment needs, was prepared.

Henson will appear before the board again by the end of September.

In 2016, two days before he abducted the girl from Shamrock St in Palmerston North, he indecently assaulted her by touching her leg when he sat next to her at a park.

After Henson’s arrest it was revealed he had committed similar offending in the early 1990s in Western Australia.