Haydn Christy abducted a jogger from the Hātea Loop in Whangārei before subjecting her to a prolonged sexual assault. Composite photo / NZME
WARNING: This article discusses sexual assault and may be upsetting to some readers.
A man who violently abducted a jogger and took her to his home, where he sexually violated her, is believed to have unresolved issues with power, control and entitlement.
Today, Whangārei man Haydn Teoneroa Christy appeared before the Parole Board for the third time in nine months, during which it was determined he remained a risk to the community.
Christy, who had been deported from Australia for violent crimes, was sentenced in the High Court at Whangārei in 2016 on charges of abduction for the purpose of sexual violation, threatening to kill, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and four charges of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection.
His victim had been living in Whangārei for a short time when, early one morning in 2016, she went for a run around the popular walking track, the Hātea Loop.
Christy, then 40, was intoxicated and high on methamphetamine when he saw the woman while driving.
He followed her before getting out of his car and approaching her.
Christy repeatedly punched the woman, wounded her with rocks and then abducted her, taking her in his car to his home, where he sexually violated her.
He played pornography on his television and continued the abuse before threatening to kill her.
After the assaults, he drove the woman to a city street and dumped her.
A member of the public found her and called emergency services. She spent days in hospital recovering from her injuries.
At the time of Christy’s sentencing, the Crown sought preventive detention but the sentencing judge did not impose it as Christy had no history of sexual assault.
He was instead sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment with a minimum period of imprisonment of eight years.
Christy is now eligible for parole, and at a hearing in May 2025, the board declined his bid for release because the address he proposed to reside at was considered too remote.
A month later, while still incarcerated but living in a self-care unit on prison grounds, Christy tested positive for cannabis.
He was subsequently transferred back inside the wire.
Christy’s parole was again refused in July, and today he appeared before the board for another attempt at release.
At the hearing, he expressed remorse for his offending and, repeating what he had said at earlier hearings, told the board he was no longer the man he was when he committed the crime.
Christy said he had been angry at the world and unable to cope with his life at the time.
He had turned to drugs and alcohol and developed distorted beliefs about his entitlement to, and need for, sex, he said.
“I was using sex as a coping strategy to release stress,” Christy said.
“I’ve learnt a lot in that place with distortion, things going through my head, having my needs met, treating women in a bad way, and having entitlement issues.”
At his parole hearing in July, he presented a safety plan for his release.
Today, the board asked Christy whether he had updated the plan since he was caught smoking cannabis, to which he said he hadn’t.
He was then asked whether he had looked at his safety plan in the last seven months, and again, he hadn’t.
Christy faced pressure from the Parole Board around his former issues with power, control and entitlement.
Panel convener Ann-Marie Beveridge was not convinced he had overcome those issues and pressed him for answers over what happened on the morning of the abduction.
“How long had you been considering kidnapping a person off the street for your sexual purposes?” she asked.
Christy said it was impulsive and he had not been considering it at all.
She then asked why he chose his victim.
“I was intoxicated at the time. I don’t want to blame the drugs and intoxication, I can’t answer that,” he said.
Beveridge then asked why he thought he was entitled to do what he did to the victim, to which Christy said it stemmed from behaviour he saw in men growing up.
Beveridge did not accept his answer and said there were plenty of grown men who had lived similar lives that did not go on to abduct women from the streets.
“I believe I took the rights of that young lady away from her because I believed that the whole world was against me and someone had to suffer,” Christy said.
Beveridge then put to Christy that he was a “power and control” person and said she could not see anything in his safety plan that addressed how he would deal with those issues in the community.
Other board members also pressed Christy on how he would manage situations involving vulnerable women in the future, using an example of being the last person left with a woman at a party.
“First of all, I wouldn’t be in a situation at a party,” Christy responded.
“I’m not even thinking about that lifestyle or being in an environment like that but walking away if I was put in that situation, being assertive to that person and telling them I’m walking away from this.”
The Parole Board took around 20 minutes to deliberate before advising Christy that his parole was declined.
A number of concerns remained for the panel and they wanted to see an updated safety plan and more psychological support in place for him in the community.
Christy will return before the board in April.
Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.