Husband and Wife Sex Offenders Paroled in 2008
NZ Corrections Dept Won't Say if Parole Address Was Suitable
Oct 9, 2009
The issue of parole has become a contentious issue in New Zealand with public outcry after serious crimes committed by offenders while on parole. Some victim supporter groups want tighter restrictions on parole.
Roy Oliver Liddell, 80, and Mary Joan Liddell, 79, were each serving five-year prison terms for incest involving their own children, when they were paroled in 2008 to the same address; she in June, he in September.
The proposal for Mr Liddell to reside at the address concerned the NZ Community Probation Service because there were also children living there - "a girl aged 18 and a 14 year-old (6 foot tall) son". However, the NZ Parole Board dismissed the concern saying neither of the Liddells were a risk for sexual reoffending.
In October 2009, two months after the pair had officially completed their sentences, a Corrections Dept spokesperson was tight lipped as to whether the parole address had proved suitable.
"The Department will not be commenting on details of the management of these offenders for privacy reasons,” the spokesperson told the author.
She did however confirm that there were no parole violations by either of the Liddells.
Important that Elderly Husband and Wife Who Admitted Incest Served Prison Terms
The Liddells each pleaded guilty in 2004 to three counts of incest. The charges were representative of crimes against three of their five children during the 1960s and 1970s.
Earlier applications by the Liddells for home detention and parole had been declined for reasons that included the need to uphold the integrity of the sentence. But Mary and Roy Liddell were both paroled in 2008, about three quarters of the way through their sentences.
Parole Board Dismisses Community Probation Service Concern Over Parole Address
Parole Board panel convener Judge Russell Callander said, the Community Probation Service's concern about the parole address for Roy Liddell bore "no real scrutiny",
"We believe that, given the circumstances of Mr Liddell’s age and the historic nature of his offending, Community Probation may be unnecessarily applying a departmental guideline," Judge Callander said.
Roy Liddell had undergone the Te Piriti programme successfully and had been assessed by a psychologist as having no real risk of sexual reoffending, the judge said.
Parole Conditions Extended for Roy Liddell
Sentences for both the Liddells have since expired, ending in August 2009. However, according to a Parole Board spokesperson parole conditions for Roy Liddell remain in place until February 2010 - six months past the sentence expiry date and the maximum length of time for which the board can impose conditions.
Among those parole conditions were that Roy Liddell was not to contact the victims, was prohibited from entering Gisborne (the family's hometown and where the offending had taken place), was to participate in a relapse prevention group and was to undergo psychological assessment.
The Parole Board spokesperson confirmed that once their sentences had expired, the Liddells would be free to return to Gisborne if they wanted.
“Neither the NZ Parole Board or the NZ Corrections Department were able to restrict the movement of offenders once they had completed their sentences,” the spokesperson said.
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