Former Dilworth housemaster Ian Wilson's sixth attempt at parole has been declined. Photo / Michael Craig
WARNING: This story discusses sexual assault and may be distressing for some readers.
Former Dilworth housemaster Ian Wilson, who is serving jail time for sexually abusing several students, has been grilled on whether he has other victims he has yet to disclose.
“Not to my knowledge. I would be very surprised if any other people come forward,” Wilson told the Parole Board today.
But panel convenor Judge Arthur Tompkins rejected Wilson’s response, stating it was “not an answer”.
“What does that mean – ‘not to your knowledge’?” he asked.
Wilson repeated his response, claiming he was not aware of anyone else whom he had sexually abused, who had not already laid a complaint against him.
Judge Tompkins reminded Wilson that previously, he had only admitted his offending in sequential stages, when confronted with credible accounts by victims as they spoke up.
Wilson claimed he had repressed memories of his previous actions.
He said he “didn’t dwell” on the abuse he inflicted, and it was only on hearing accounts from his victims that he thought, “yes, there’s truth to that”.
“I had put them [memories] away, I tried to move on.”
The panel pressed him on whether it was a possibility that Wilson had repressed memories of there being further victims.
He said there was always that possibility, but repeated he would be “very surprised”.
One of Wilson’s supporters spoke to the board about how Wilson had been reading the Bible and praying to God to reveal any abuse that he may be holding back.
“And nothing has been revealed,” said the man, who cannot be named.
Wilson, who worked at Dilworth from February 1971 until his resignation in December 1996, was arrested in 2020 as part of Operation Beverly, a long-running investigation into historical sexual abuse by several staff at the Auckland-based boys-only boarding school.
He was jailed in March 2021 for three years and seven months for indecently assaulting five students between 1975 and 1992 – some of them more than once and over several years.
Wilson was still in jail when he had one year and 11 months added to his sentence in August last year after belatedly admitting to having abused five others.
At today’s hearing, Wilson was denied parole for the sixth time, leaving him to serve most, if not all, of his prison sentence.
The board determined he remained an undue risk and scheduled his next hearing for July next year. His statutory release date is September 22, 2026.
If granted parole in July, he would be released with parole conditions. However, if he were again declined, he would serve the remaining two months of his sentence and then be served with release conditions.
The outcome was welcomed by one of Wilson’s victims, Neil Harding, who has fought to keep the former housemaster behind bars for the duration of his sentence.
“It’s really, really good. I’m really comfortable with that. I’m grateful to the Parole Board that they listened,” Harding told NZME.
Before the hearing, Harding made submissions to the board, imploring it to ask Wilson if there were other victims.
He said he believed there were at least two other people who had yet to come forward.
“Of course, if he were truly remorseful, he would tell the truth,” Harding said.
In his submissions, Harding pointed out that Wilson was part of the school’s senior management and claimed Wilson played a significant role in covering up abuse by other parties, as well as his own offending.
“The Royal Commission into Abuse in Care named Dilworth School first in institutions that had the highest prevalence of sexual abuse in New Zealand between 1950-1999.
“Ian Wilson was responsible, along with others, for the cover-up of sexual abuse of hundreds of young boys.”
He said Wilson was “sadistic and inhumane” towards students and described him as “a monster”.
More than 40 former pupils have taken their own lives after the decades of abuse that went on at the school, Harding submitted.
“The impact of [Wilson’s] abuse, and the role he played, is incalculable.”
Wilson has denied knowing others were sexually abusing students.
“He most definitely knew other paedophiles were active at Dilworth,” Harding told the board.
He said Wilson continued to lie, including when he claimed his offending ended, and when asked about further victims.
Harding rejected Wilson’s claims that he had reformed and was remorseful.
“If you believe that he has been rehabilitated, then he has again duped and conned the system.”
At the hearing, Wilson’s lawyer submitted that Wilson was an eligible candidate for parole, given that he had a support network that held him accountable, and had approved interim accommodation.
Wilson’s ill health, proposed special conditions, safety plan, and the treatment he underwent in prison were additional factors for consideration.
Tara Shaskey joined NZME in 2022 and is an assistant editor and reporter for the Open Justice team. She has been a reporter since 2014 and previously worked at Stuff covering crime and justice, arts and entertainment, and Māori issues.