A "high risk" sex offender who caused public outcry when placed near a school has been moved to a new temporary location -- near another school.
The man, who has temporary name suppression, was initially housed near Te Kura Maori o Nga Tapuwae in Mangere East when he was released from prison in May.
Members of the community condemned the lack of communication surrounding the housing and pupils at the school alleged they filmed the man making hand and tongue gestures at them.
He was subsequently moved, and is now living around 300 metres from Jean Batten Primary School in Mangere.
In a newsletter to parents, the school highlighted the rehousing and said it had spoken to the Department of Corrections about the man's monitoring.
Corrections has assured the school the man will be "very closely supervised" and "will be visited frequently by probation staff and police".
His movements will be monitored 24 hours a day and any attempt to interfere with his electronic monitoring device will result in Corrections being notified "within five minutes".
The newsletter also reminds parents about the guest sign-in procedures at the school and advises them on how to broach the topic with children, saying: "It is not helpful to focus on one individual".
In a statement released to Newshub, Corrections says the offender will be subject to ongoing assessment to identify any likelihood of further offending.
The offender was only released from prison after the department unsuccessfully applied for a Public Protection Order from the High Court, which would have required him to live at a secure facility on prison grounds.
The court instead imposed an Extended Supervision Order, meaning the offender had to be released.
Corrections says finding accommodation for released offenders can be challenging, but public safety is the primary priority.
"We use comprehensive risk assessment tools which are applied on a regular basis and allow staff to consider potential risk scenarios, including predictions about an offender's possible offending behaviour and likely victims," says northern operations director Lynette Cave.
Corrections also says it has contacted five other local school principals and surrounding neighbours to inform them of the release and says it is happy to meet with anybody who has concerns.
Newshub.
