New Zealand Parole Board -

Parole Hearing

Under section 21(1) of the Parole Act 2002

Kerry Charles RATANA

Hearing: 20 March 2019

At Hawkes Bay Regional Prison

via AVL to New Zealand Parole Board, Wellington

Members of the Board:

• Mr N Trendle – Panel Convenor
• Ms S Driver
• Mr S Perry

DECISION OF THE BOARD

1. Kerry Charles Ratana is serving a total sentence of 16 years, six months’ imprisonment for manslaughter and unlawful sexual connection.  The seriousness of his offending was marked by the sentencing Judge with the imposition of a minimum period of imprisonment of eight years, three months.  Mr Ratana is shortly to reach that date.  His statutory release date is 21 June 2027.
2. The victim of Mr Ratana’s offending was his five-year-old stepdaughter.  Although he has admitted the violent aspect of his offending, Mr Ratana went to trial with respect to the sexual offending.
3. Mr Ratana has a RoC*RoI of 0.62815, reflecting some 44 convictions, including eight for violent offending.  He has been sentence-planned to attend the Drug Treatment Programme and he is presently completing phase one of the programme.  He told us that he is learning a lot.  Previously, he was unable to manage his emotions and turned to drugs as a coping mechanism.  This sentence has given him the opportunity to share issues of past abuse that happened to him.  He is now learning to process his emotions without recourse to drugs.  He told us he was committed to change.
4. The Board has a psychological assessment completed in February of this year.  That assesses Mr Ratana as posing a high risk of sexual and violent re-offending.  The Kia Marama child sex offender treatment programme was recommended as the optimum pathway for Mr Ratana, although the psychologist noted his denial of responsibility for the sexual offending for which he was convicted.  Individual treatment with the psychologist was recommended as a precursor to the recommended programme.
5. Mr Ratana seems to be making solid progress in getting to grips with issues in his past and the seriousness of his offending.  More than once he referred to his remorse for what he did to his victim, and the consequences for the victim’s family.  He told us that he is committed to change and he has made a positive start.
6. Parole today is declined.  There is considerable work for Mr Ratana to complete.  After the Drug Treatment Programme, the Board supports his referral to the psychologist and then to the Kia Marama Programme.  We will schedule him to return to the Board in two years.  If, after completion of the pathway identified by the psychologist there is time for Mr Ratana to begin reintegration activities, the Board would support that accordingly.