Wilson parole delay

Sex offender Stewart Murray Wilson told a parole board in Wanganui yesterday that he "respected" women.

Wilson, 67, also claimed that he had not been a risk to women in the past.

He was appearing at Whanganui Prison yesterday for parole to be considered. After the hearing, the decision was adjourned to December 12 for the board to see the outcome of his defended hearing in November on charges of breaching earlier parole.

Wilson was jailed for 21 years in 1996 after being convicted on 22 sex charges against women and children between 1971 and 1994.

He told the board he did not think he posed a risk to the public.

"You said you're not a risk to anybody," said board member Rhonda Pritchard. "Did you used to be a risk?"

Wilson said he thought he had been a risk when people "got under my nose and pushed me into corners".

"I tended to fight back a little bit," he said.

Ms Pritchard asked him if he used to be a risk to women, to which he replied: "I don't think so."

"I have respect for women."

Judge David Saunders said psychologists found Wilson to have limited engagement with them, and to be at a high risk of re-offending.

The judge also pointed out a tendency to not co-operate with staff, and said there was "a lot of departmental work" going into a treatment plan, but "little from you".

"I obey the rules and I do what I'm told," Wilson said. "I don't object to doing anything. I'm working with them, I'm not working against them."

Ms Pritchard asked whether Wilson knew what was expected of him when he spoke to psychologists, and he replied that he had been "thoroughly disgusted with the whole issues of surrounding ... facing up to things."

When Ms Pritchard asked him to expand on that, he declined, "because the media's here".

Defence lawyer Andrew McKenzie pointed out Wilson had no incidents or misconducts in his 20 years in prison.

Board member Paul Taylor asked Wilson if he had any perception about how people in the community felt about him.

Wilson said he saw an article in the Chronicle on Wednesday in which Mayor Annette Main said the community shouldn't be worried about the chance of him being granted parole, given the strict conditions. He felt that should be reassuring to the community.

Being kept in high profile was an issue for Wilson, but he had "taken on board" comments from a judge in 2006. "It's better for me to be out in the community with a thousand eyes on me than to be hiding away where nobody can see what I'm doing."

During his time paroled at a house on Whanganui prison grounds, Wilson said he spent his time tending his vegetable garden and fishing with his minders.

"I had 19 rows of potatoes, 250 sweet corn plants, 100 lettuces ... I had beans and peas and about 200 tomato plants. I was supplying the City Mission," he said.

"I thought you were going to tell me you'd become a vegetarian," Judge Saunders replied.

Wilson has a defended hearing date set for mid-November on charges of earlier breaching his parole conditions.

The board has also requested an updated treatment report and release plan for Wilson. He objected to some terms of his parole conditions, and said his minders were "making a spectacle" of him during his shopping trips, with one standing in front of him and the other behind.

"I thought that was unfair," he said. "It doesn't appear to be any sort of freedom or release at all."

He was also confused about the special conditions which stated in one place that he could not leave Wanganui, and in another place that he could not leave prison grounds.

Wilson also said it was "over the top" for probation officers to visit him seven days a week. He noted to the board he wished to visit his elderly mother before she died, as she was unwell.

"The probation said that if I was prepared to pay my own way they would pay for people to go with me and accommodation," he said.

Mr McKenzie told media his client was "positive" about the hearing. "He knows he's got further work to do."

He said the hearing was positive and fair.

Wilson had "no desire to commit any further offences".