Pierre John Parsons, who now identifies as female, was 18 when she tied up a 12-year-old girl in a public toilet and violently raped her.
Since serving an 11-year jail term for that, she repeatedly breached restrictions on her liberty and was imprisoned again in 2021 after being caught with an objectionable publication.
In a decision released this week, the Court of Appeal determined the 47-year-old defendant continued to pose a risk of further sex crimes and would remain subject to an Extended Supervision Order (ESO) until at least 2027.
Such orders were only imposed against the most high-risk offenders once a prison sentence had lapsed and allowed Corrections to closely monitor them in the community.
Because Parsons’ order had been in place for 15 years, a review was automatically triggered.
The High Court authorised the ESO’s continuation and, despite a legal challenge by Parsons, the Court of Appeal concurred.
In the judgement, Parsons’ history of predatory behaviour was closely detailed.
In 1995, she tied a rope around the neck of a 12-year-old girl after finding her in the toilet of a sporting facility.
Parsons dragged her down a corridor into a changing room where she undressed her, then she took the unconscious victim into another room and raped her.
While undergoing therapy in prison, Parsons admitted having sex with a disabled teenager and molesting a 4-year-old — incidents which were never the subject of police charges.
She was released from prison on parole in 2003, but was recalled two years later after staff at the supervised facility found pictures of children in her room.
In the following decade there were repeated breaches of the ESO, including when Parsons organised a sex worker to visit the facility at which she was living.
Parsons also approached a 15-year-old girl and handed her a note requesting sexual contact, then six months later gave her a note offering to buy intimate items of clothing.
In June 2020, she was allowed internet access, but four months later was caught with illegal images.
"I am left with the situation where there is a clear pattern of Ms Parsons taking the opportunity, when it arises, to give expression to her sexual drive", Justice Rachel Dunningham said at last year’s High Court hearing.
A health assessor said tests put Parsons in the above average range of reoffending risk and said "there was no evidence that treatment of gender dysphoria reduced the risk of sexual recidivism in transgender individuals".
In the Court of Appeal, Justices Francis Cooke, Geoffrey Venning and Gerard van Bohemen said Parsons’ liberty issues did not outweigh the need to protect the public.
The ESO was "strongly justified", they said.
High risk
1995: Pierre Parsons attacks a 12-year-old girl in a toilet, is jailed for 11 years
2003: Released on parole
2005: Parsons is returned to prison after pictures of children are found in her room
2006: A decade-long Extended Supervision Order is imposed
2017: A second 10-year order is granted
2020: Parsons is jailed for nine months after being caught with child porn
2023: High Court rules the continuation of the ESO is justified
2024: The Court of Appeal rejects Parsons’ challenge
rob.kidd@odt.co.nz , Court reporter
