An Oamaru man who got his youngest daughter pregnant will remain behind bars so he can be psychologically assessed.
The man, aged in his 50s, was sentenced a year ago to three years, four months' imprisonment before the Dunedin District Court after admitting three counts of incest.
The victim became pregnant twice within six months, though only one of the pregnancies could definitively be attributed to the defendant, the court heard.
He was granted permanent name suppression to protect the identity of his daughter.
The man had a parole hearing this month at the Otago Corrections Facility where his counsel Noel Rayner argued he could be safely released into the community despite having nowhere to live.
The address he proposed had a 90-day turnover, so it was likely a bed would soon become available.
Any treatment the man needed could be undertaken while he was out, Mr Rayner said.
Panel convener Mary More said the prisoner was a "high priority'' for psychological assessment.
"It is possible that the psychological assessment will recommend necessary treatment before [he] is released to address any undue risk he poses. We rely upon the psychologist to make that assessment and cannot predict what they will say,'' she said.
The sexual abuse began shortly after the victim moved back home with her family in April 2017, court documents showed. The father drove the teenager to Kurow for "an outing''. On the way home, he stopped in a rest area and the pair had sex in the front of the vehicle.
Over the next seven months, the incest followed a similar pattern and was happening as often as weekly. They would have sex in secluded areas of North Otago, the victim said, and it once happened at a Dunedin motel.
The man claimed his daughter should have been charged too, because she had initiated their first encounter.
Ms More asked the psychologist to assess the man's risk, to comment on any treatment undertaken, suggest on any further treatment needed, and to look at his release proposal.
The prisoner will next appear before the Parole Board in December.
His sentence end date is March 2021.
