EXCLUSIVE: Recidivist sex offender threatens to give 'many people HIV, HEP C' if released from prison

An HIV-positive recidivist child sex offender freed on parole with a new name and identity is back behind bars after she was caught trading sexual services for methamphetamine.

And she has begged prison bosses to keep her "behind a fence" for life, threatening that if she is released from prison she would return to prostitution and "give as many people HIV and Hepatitis C" as she can.

Rory Francis was sentenced to nine years and four months in prison in 2010 for rape and other sexual offending against boys and girls in 2010.

Earlier indecent offending against boys in 2005 resulted in a sentence of one year and three months.

Francis had been diagnosed as HIV positive before the offending

Francis now identifies as a female and uses the name Laken McKay.

In August last year the Herald revealed McKay had been released on parole and was living under the new identity.

The family of her most recent victims contacted the Herald after she was released, concerned her new identity meant the community were not aware of her past offending.

Laken McKay is a recidivist child sex offender. Photograph/Facebook

in October, McKay was recalled to prison after she breached her parole conditions.

She had been working as a prostitute for several weeks, taking cash and methamphetamine as payment.

Her parole conditions forbade her from any employment without express permission, and from using drugs.

The Herald learned of McKay's recall through a handwritten letter from prison.

"I have some bad news, I'm back in prison, was recalled for working as a working girl … plus I was using again," she wrote.

"I don't think I will ever be released now, because of a few reasons.

"I don't want to be in the community as I'm not wanted, I will always be looking over my shoulder wondering if people will recognise me.

"I will never be able to be settled and get on with my life, I will have a low quality of life."

The letter from Laken McKay sent to the Herald.

McKay appeared before the Parole Board in March and was refused release.

She will be seen again in March next year.

In her letter to the Herald she said she was so desperate to be kept inside she had asked Corrections to seek a Public Protection Order - a court order that allows the detention of very high risk individuals at a secure facility within prison precincts.

PPOs may be put in place for individuals "who have served a finite prison sentence, but still pose a very high risk of imminent and serious sexual or violent offending and cannot be safely managed in the community".

READ MORE ABOUT PUBLIC PROTECTION ORDERS HERE.

"I had an idea where everyone would be happy as I would be behind a fence for the rest of my life," McKay said in her letter.

"So I wrote a letter to the chief executive of Corrections … I said that I wanted to live in the compound in Christchurch … which means I'll live there for the rest of my life - the community knows they are safe from me and I safe from them.

"I also stated that if I were to be released from custody I would start working again as a prostitute and give as many people HIV and Hep C, which in my eyes makes me an immediate threat to the community."

Laken McKay aka Rory Francis was recalled to prison after being caught working as a prostitute for methamphetamine. NZME photograph

McKay said Corrections had declined her request, saying she "didn't meet the criteria".

"F**ken crazy, I am in disbelief," she said.

But Corrections Northern Region operations manager Lynette Cave said a decision was yet to be made on what would happen to McKay once her sentence ended in September 2019.

"Consideration is being given to how she can be safely managed in the community when she's lawfully required to be released," she said.

"This will include an assessment in relation to her eligibility for an Extended Supervision Order (ESO) or a Public Protection Order (PPO)."

Cave confirmed Corrections had received a letter from McKay that outlined "a range of concerns" while seeking a PPO.

"Including that she no longer wished to reside in the community due to the number of conditions she was required to comply with by Community Corrections, police and the Child Sex Offender Register.

"She was also concerned about her profile due to media coverage, and the difficulty of living in the community on a benefit.

"A meeting was arranged for her to discuss her concerns with staff, which was reportedly constructive."

Cave said only eight applications for PPOs have been made since they were introduced in 2014.

"Of these, three applications have been granted, two have been declined, one application was withdrawn by Corrections and two remain before the Court," she said.

"The threshold is very high."

The first was granted in 2016 for a serial sexual predator of young boys.

If McKay is not released on parole before her sentence ends she will be freed from prison in September next year.

Cave said she would then be required to comply with any conditions placed on her by the board or courts.

"And her risk will be frequently assessed," she said.

"Her compliance with the conditions will be closely managed by experienced staff, and any breach of the conditions, or escalation in the risk she presents, will be addressed promptly."

McKay wrote to the Herald from the Auckland South Corrections Facility, a prison for men at Wiri. New Zealand Herald Photograph by Dean Purcell

A Parole Board spokesman said the agency had no legal power to impose a PPO.
"Public safety is the Board's paramount consideration in all of its decision making," he said.

"The board cannot legally release an offender on parole if they pose a risk to the community.

"In determining whether an offender poses a risk the Board takes into account a wide range of information, including psychological reports and a parole assessment prepared by the Department of Corrections."

McKay's letter was unsolicited and also mentioned her victims and graphic details of self harm.

The Herald has chosen not to publish it in full.

The family of McKay's young victims did not want to comment on the letter.