Sex offender 'freed' to jail

By MONIQUE DEVEREUX South Island correspondent



Convicted paedophile Lloyd McIntosh will no longer be released to live in a rural Canterbury settlement after the Corrections Department came up with the "creative solution" of sending him to another prison.

But Halkett residents remain concerned about the future use of the house he would have lived in, fearing it will be used for other offenders.

Corrections made the unusual move of asking McIntosh to consider serving his nine months of release on conditions in the Christchurch Prison grounds.

He will spend part of that time in a self-care unit such as those used by minimum security prisoners. For the remainder of the time he will live in a house that will be moved on to prison property although sited outside the perimeter fence.

After nine months McIntosh will be free but Corrections is still assessing whether extended supervision should apply. That would allow the department to monitor him for 10 years.

McIntosh will arrive in Christchurch this week and will have 24-hour supervision, initially by two minders.

Since 1989 he has raped two children and last year he assaulted a handicapped woman who was in his bedroom, while his state-paid minder waited outside.

But he has now served his jail time and has the legal right to live in the community. His move to Christchurch Prison grounds was only made possible because he consented.

But it is extremely unusual, and Corrections acknowledges similar moves will not be possible for all child sex-offenders.

Meanwhile residents of Halkett, 25km west of Christchurch, have been upset since learning that a house in their community had been fitted with alarms and security cameras in preparation for a sex offender.

The house has a school bus stop outside the front gate.

Yesterday, a spokesman for the residents, Tim Stevens, said he was "absolutely elated" that McIntosh had agreed to live elsewhere. "The guy's got to go somewhere, it's just this is a completely unsuitable location.

"There are no services here. There's no library, there are no parks. How is he going to be rehabilitated?"

The house is owned by former Canterbury University lecturer Julian Tealby, who now works in Rarotonga.

But Mr Stevens said the worry was not over for the community.

"Obviously the house has a lease with the Corrections Department and we want to ensure this kind of thing is not going to happen again." He has emailed Dr Tealby to ask how long the department would lease the house, but has had no response.

Last night a Corrections spokeswoman said: "Obviously the department takes public concerns very seriously and that's why they look at these other options. In this case it was great, it all fell into place."


REPEAT OFFENDER

Lloyd McIntosh was jailed in 1993 for sexually violating a 23-month-old girl after his release from Lake Alice psychiatric hospital where he had been sent in 1989 for raping a 6-year-old.

Release on conditions is served by offenders who have jail terms of less than two years, after completing half their sentence. Unlike parole, a breach of release on conditions does not mean the offender is recalled to prison.