A convicted child rapist will no longer be considered for residence in a house near a Christchurch school after members of the surrounding community voiced their concerns.
Harewood School was earlier informed by the Department of Corrections that four offenders would be moved to managed accommodation in the suburb of Harewood, where the school of around 200 pupils is based.
Lloyd McIntosh, a convicted child rapist, was among those four offenders.
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However Southern Regional Commissioner Ben Clark told Newshub on Thursday evening that he would no longer be considered for residency there.
"We have talked to a number of people today, and listened to their concerns. No final decision had been made into the future placement of Lloyd McIntosh. However, I can confirm he will not be residing at this property," he said.
"We fully acknowledge that the location of offenders can be a concern for communities, and we work hard to balance this concern with our obligation to safely manage offenders in the community.
"Public safety is our top priority."
The decision on which offenders will be housed in the managed accommodation has not yet been made.
The Department of Corrections operations director Chris O’Brien-Smith would not comment on speculation that convicted child rapist Lloyd McIntosh would be one of the group.
McIntosh was convicted of raping a six-year-old girl in 1989 and sexually assaulting a 23-month-old infant in 1993.
He has been constantly monitored since his 2004 release from prison and has to take drugs to control his sex drive, Court News reported in 2016.
Following his release he was meant to be housed outside of prison but following a public backlash, he was moved to a unit on the grounds of Christchurch Prison, Stuff reports.
However Mr O’Brien-Smith told Newshub that extensive and robust processes were carried out "to assess the suitability of every address proposed to accommodate a person with convictions for child sex offences".
"The safety of communities is paramount in any decisions we make."
The offenders have not been identified to the school and no final decision has been made as to who will reside at the Harewood property, he says.
A range of factors are considered when accommodating convicted offenders including the location of victims and the proximity to places designed for children.
Where appropriate, offenders are supported back into the communities they came from to maintain connections with people who assist them in order to reduce their risk of re-offending.
"No offender would be permitted to reside at an address if it was considered that the risk could not be safely managed and public safety upheld. If an offender was residing at an address that elevated their risk, they could be directed to reside elsewhere," Mr O’Brien-Smith says.
There are no offenders currently living at the property and no address would be approved if it presented an unmanageable risk to the community, he says.
The offenders are believed to be residing at the Wai-ora Trust property in Christchurch which is one kilometre away from the school, Stuff reports.
Harewood Principal Julie Greenwood says it's not an ideal situation, but the department is working within the law.
In a email sent to school parents, Principal Greenwood says, "I want to assure the parent community that we have been given no information on the offenders or location of the accommodation.
"This was not a consultation process but a notification to inform us this was happening in the community."
Ms Greenwood reiterated that it is safe for pupils to walk, scooter or cycle to and from school in pairs and small groups, using an agreed route.
Ms Greenwood says she is happy to speak with parents but has no further information.
Offenders residing in the community have to comply with strict conditions, including GPS tracking, regularly reporting to community probation, and restrictions on living and working arrangements, and associations with certain people, Mr O’Brien-Smith says.
Conditions can also be imposed to address any specific risks that the offender poses, and their compliance with their conditions is closely managed by their probation officer, he says.
"We expect offenders to fully comply with the conditions imposed on them and take any breach very seriously.
"We will continue to work with the Christchurch community to discuss how we help offenders successfully re-integrate to reduce their likelihood of re-offending and keep our communities safe."
Newshub.
