Edward ANAND 29/09/2023

Parole Hearing

Under section 21(2) of the Parole Act 2002

Edward ANAND

Hearing: 29 September 2023

at Manawatu Prison via MS TEAMS

Members of the Board: Sir Ron Young – Chairperson

Mr G Coyle

Mr L Tawera

Counsel:                                           Ms J Fyfe

In Attendance:                                  [withheld] - Case Manager

Support Persons: [withheld]

DECISION OF THE BOARD

  1. Mr Anand who is 74 years of age was sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment for extensive offending against eight complainants.  There were many rapes, indecent assaults and other sexual abuse of eight [withheld] and over an extended period of some six plus years he took advantage of his presence to sexually abuse them.  He was first imprisoned in 2016 and his sentence end date is March 2029.  Other than that offending, he has no relevant convictions.
  2. We saw him in March 2023.  Mr Anand throughout has denied the offending.  Reports said that he had completed his rehabilitation but really what he has completed is the Deniers’ Programme which as the psychologist noted is a short programme designed to provide a stepping stone for offenders into safety planning. Mr Anand’s conduct in prison had been up and down.  He could be confrontational and challenging.  At that stage, he had no approved address.
  3. As to the current position, Mr Anand has behaved well at his current prison.  He remains a denier.  He has some support in the greater Wellington area [withheld].
  4. As the psychologist noted in the treatment report Mr Anand completed all 26 sessions.  He did well with some concerns about his attitude and approach.  At times, he can be dismissive and somewhat arrogant.  [withheld]. He has had feelings that Corrections have not treated him fairly.
  5. The key for him will be to avoid risky situations, build and strengthen his relationships, and ensure that he has no contact whatsoever with young women under 16.
  6. As we have noted, the Denier’s Programme is very much a stepping stone.  We think further work needs to be done by Mr Anand in familiarising himself with his safety plan. We were not particularly convinced about his depth of knowledge of that plan given it is a core aspect of his release plan.  He does have some supporters although it seemed uncertain about whether or not they accept or reject his convictions.  If his supporters do not think he was properly convicted, then they will likely only provide very modest support in the sense of providing oversight and ensuring that Mr Anand behaves well.
  7. What we propose to do is see Mr Anand again in December 2023.  That enables us to protect a proposed release to [withheld] for 15 January 2024.
  8. It will be, of course, up to the next board to decide if Mr Anand has reached the threshold of less than undue risk, but it may be that with that further work on understanding his safety plan he will be ready for release.  But we make it clear we consider a prohibition against going to the South Island would be appropriate as one of the standard conditions for victim protection.

Sir Ron Young

Chairperson