Young sex offender with 'psychopathic traits' to be kept under max period of supervision

A judge granted the maximum extender supervision period for the young man in the High Court in Wellington today. Photo/file

A teenager who sexually offended against three boys - one as young as 13 months - will be kept under extended supervision after a report identified his high risk of reoffending.

The 19-year-old displayed a strong indication of having "psychopathic traits" when assessed by a doctor, which suggested his risk of reoffending would remain high in the long term, the report said.

The young man, who has permanent name suppression, was only 17 when he was sentenced in the Napier District Court on four counts of unlawful sexual connection with a boy under 12, and four counts of indecent assault on a boy under 12.

He received a prison sentence of four years and six months for the offending against three boys, aged between 13 months and 6 years old.

The man appeared via audio visual link in the High Court in Wellington this morning where Justice Peter Churchman granted an extended supervision order for when his jail term comes to an end.

The man, who has reported himself to police in the past for "undetected" offending against other children and "persistence of deviant sexual preference and arousal", has failed to "meaningfully engage" with treatment programmes for young sexual offenders.

The health assessment report from May this year said aspects of his crimes constituted a "concerning trajectory towards serious sexual offending".

Justice Churchman was satisfied the man met the threshold for imposing further supervision.

He granted an extended supervision order for the maximum period of 10 years, and an intensive monitoring order for the maximum of 12 months. Both will begin when the man leaves prison.