A man who police believe has been approaching Christchurch schoolgirls was under a preventive detention order for sexual violence.
Leo Darin Goodwin, 53, is accused of approaching teenagers under the age of 16 in breach of the conditions of the order.
He appeared at the Christchurch District Court today, where he was remanded in custody.
Police said girls were asked for inappropriate favours in exchange for money. Letters were sent to 11 schools as part of their inquiries.
Goodwin has multiple convictions for violence and rape against women, dating back to the 1990s.
He was sentenced to preventive detention in 2006 at the High Court at Hamilton after being convicted of charges of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection, abduction for sexual intercourse and threatening to kill a 15-year-old girl.
Goodwin’s previous criminal offending was revealed at the time, including a sentence of 12 years for sexual violation by rape and three years for aggravated wounding.
In 1994, he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment in Australia for threatening with a weapon with intent to have sexual intercourse. He was also sentenced for threatening to inflict actual bodily harm with an offensive weapon.
Justice Cooper said Goodwin was released on parole on September 15, 2004, but offended again three months later.
A pre-sentence report found he had a “high risk of serious violent sexual re-offending”.
Justice Cooper sentenced Goodwin to preventive detention because he was satisfied that Goodwin was likely to re-offend if released.
“There is here an absence of, or failure of efforts to address the cause or causes of your offending and so in terms of all these statutory considerations, preventive detention appears to be the appropriate response,” he said.
He concluded Goodwin was “likely to commit a further predatory sexual attack upon your release from a sentence of any finite term”.
The Department of Corrections confirmed it had applied to the New Zealand Parole Board today to have Goodwin recalled to prison for breaching his release conditions.
Corrections spokesperson Chris O’Brien-Smith said the man was granted parole in March 2023.
“When an offender is granted parole by the New Zealand Parole Board they are required to comply with any conditions imposed by the board. Community Corrections staff actively manage the person’s compliance with these conditions,” he said.
“Public safety is our top priority and if an offender released on parole breaches their conditions, or poses an undue risk to the safety of the community, a probation officer or police officer can apply to the board to have them recalled to continue serving their sentence in prison.”
The Parole Board would determine whether a final recall was granted, O’Brien-Smith said.
Police were first notified on August 4 of the man approaching school girls in the Merivale and St Albans area. Several other approaches had since been reported.
A letter was then sent to several schools in the area, alerting them to the offending.
Detective Constable Andrea McDowell announced today that a man had been arrested after reports of students being approached by a “suspicious person”.
“We want to thank the community for their caring response and for providing the information that helped us to identify the man,” she said.
“Reports like this are concerning and we hope the arrest brings some comfort to the community.”
McDowell said it was a good reminder for parents to educate children on how to keep themselves safe when they’re walking to and from school and to call 111 concerned for themselves or someone else’s safety.
Goodwin was due to reappear in court on September 17.
By Tim Brown, Adam Burns and Sam Sherwood for rnz.co.nz
