“The system has failed women,” she said. “My biggest concern is he will reoffend and the next woman may not be able to elude him.”
The incident in Puarenga Park was described by Pene’s sentencing judge as “creepy”. Pene repeatedly followed the woman while she ran. She tried to get away from him and eventually scrambled through bushes to make a break on to Te Ngae Rd, where she ran to safety at the Sudima Hotel, with Pene still following her.
The woman, who spoke on condition she was not identified, said she did everything she could to ask that Pene be given help while in prison and she said his final parole decision made for “some pretty tough reading”.
Pene was jailed for two years and seven months in March 2021 on charges of intimidation and threatening behaviour after following the woman in September 2020, and for committing three unrelated burglaries.
He previously served prison time for two counts of performing an indecent act in front of women he did not know at the Redwoods forest and inside a shop in the central business district. He was on parole for those offences when he followed the woman in Puarenga Park.
Pene’s April 2023 Parole Board decision, given to the Rotorua Daily Post, said he should remain in prison until his statutory release date on May 1. His release conditions would be valid for six months after that date.
The conditions include that he not enter Rotorua or consume alcohol and unprescribed drugs and that he be electronically monitored, attend a psychological assessment and complete any treatment as directed, and live at an approved address.
Pene was denied parole in February 2022, August 2022, February 2023 and April 2023 because he was deemed an undue risk to the community and was an “untreated” prisoner.
The February 2022 decision said Pene needed individual psychological counselling and had been on a waiting list for some time, but it had not occurred because of Covid-19 restrictions.
The April decision said nothing had changed since February 2022 and Pene had not been offered individual psychological treatment, despite the board requesting this happen “urgently prior to his release due to his high risk of reoffending and the type and seriousness of his previous convictions”.
“He did have positive engagement with psychological services at Spring Hill prison but remained waitlisted for one-to-one treatment with a psychologist at Auckland South Correctional Facility.”
It said Pene had been reluctant to meet a psychologist during his time in prison and it was not clear he would given be any treatment before his release.
“This is highly concerning. Mr Pene is a high-risk offender.”
The decision said he had no approved accommodation and “little community support”. Ideas he had talked about for where he would live were mainly emergency accommodation in Rotorua’s central business area, which was where he was living when he offended in 2021.
He had been put into a high prison security classification because he assaulted someone in prison. The decision noted he was also said to have acted inappropriately towards female health staff. His first parole decision noted he had been involved in indecent behaviour towards a staff member.
The latest decision said Pene had an established schizophrenia diagnosis, complicated by substance use. He told the Parole Board he no longer took his medication because he no longer heard voices in his head and the medication made him feel drowsy.
Pene was off his medication when he committed the 2021 offences, it was revealed in court at the time.
The runner he followed in 2020 told the Rotorua Daily Post that, based on the Parole Board comments, she was concerned for herself, other women and her community after October 31, when Pene could legally return to Rotorua.
“After six months, if he hasn’t found himself back in a correctional facility, there is nothing stopping him from entering Rotorua. This will always be a thought in the back of my mind.”
She was also worried that Pene was “reluctant” to meet a psychologist.
“I had hoped that his time in a correctional facility would get him the help he requires to live a ‘normal’ life in society but ... [in my view] this has not happened.”
A spokesperson for prison operator Serco said all prisoners held at Kohuora Auckland South Corrections Facility were assessed for appropriate treatment and this was prioritised by risk.
“It can be challenging to appropriately treat prisoners who transfer to Kohuora with just a few months remaining on their sentence.
“When a prisoner is released from prison without completing appropriate treatment, a robust risk management plan is established by a multi-disciplinary team, which includes Ara Poutama.”
Corrections deputy national commissioner Brigid Kean said the department acknowledged how distressing it was for survivors when people were released from prison.
“This person was required to be released from prison after serving his full prison sentence and now must comply with extensive conditions imposed by the New Zealand Parole Board.
“Our staff are closely managing his compliance with these conditions and, if he breaches them, he will be held to account.”
She said penalties could include formal prosecution, which could result in imprisonment.
