Zacariha Te Aroha Gray, 37, was jailed for three years and four months when he appeared in the Dunedin District Court in March and turned up for his first parole hearing recently, accepting he was not ready for release.
Gray had previously been locked up for committing indecent acts against children and after serving that sentence was made subject to an extended supervision order (ESO) for 10 years.
Such orders are only imposed against high-risk sexual or violent offenders who remain likely to reoffend, and allow Corrections to keep tabs on criminals in the community.
In 2022, Gray was jailed for two years after he breached the order, by accessing nearly 700 objectionable images and videos.
But it was not enough to deter him.
Police raided the defendant’s home in 2023 and found two cellphones under a set of drawers in his wardrobe and a third was located in a hollowed-out bible on his bookshelf.
The terms of Gray’s ESO meant he was unable to possess an internet-capable device without permission of Corrections.
He admitted he had created social-media accounts to view the illegal material and police found 452 images and 188 videos.
Gray told the Parole Board treatment he had received in recent years had stopped his contact offending against children but he acknowledged he had continued his "deviant sexual interests" through child-exploitation material.
"Mr Gray persuaded himself it was not harmful, but he accepted today that it is," panel convener Martha Coleman said.
Counsel Brendan Stephenson acknowledged his client was not ready to be out of prison but asked for the board to "map out the road ahead".
Ms Coleman noted Gray was due to be transferred from the Otago Corrections Facility to Rolleston Prison to complete specialist child-sex-offender therapy. Until that happened, and he developed a strong release plan, he would be an undue risk of release.
The next parole hearing was set for April 2026.
Gray’s sentence expires in December that year.
