Adrian Justin WAA 09/01/2025

Publication of the name, address and occupation

or identifying particulars of the victim prohibited

Parole Hearing

Under section 21(2) of the Parole Act 2002

Adrian Justin WAA

Hearing: 9 January 2025 at Otago Corrections Facility via MS Teams

Members of the Board:

Mr N Trendle - Panel Convenor

Dr G Coyle

Dr S Davis

Counsel: Ms M Dempsey

In Attendance: [withheld] - Case Manager

Support Persons: [withheld]

DECISION OF THE BOARD

  1. Adrian Justin Waa is making a further appearance before the Board on a sentence of eight years, four months imprisonment for burglary and serious sexual offending.  His statutory release date is 15 June 2028.
  2. Mr Waa completed the Drug Treatment Programme in April 2023 and graduated from the Special Treatment Unit for Violent Offending in December that year.  He completed a further nine sessions of individual work with a psychologist, focusing on the sexual dimension of his offending.  Since completion of that work, as the Board noted in July last year, he has been in the reintegration phase of his sentence.  Regrettably that has not progressed as quickly as Mr Waa would wish.  He currently holds a minimum security classification and his PCO, who has known him since he came to prison, said that he was a very different person from who he was in the past, which included a reputation that appears to have inhibited his progress on reintegration activities.
  3. That is reflected in the parole assessment report that records he was considered at Invercargill Prison for Release to Work but the application was declined [withheld].  Accordingly, we request a report on the basis for that decision that led to the declining of his application for Release to Work.
  4. Mr Waa was represented by his counsel Ms Dempsey who made written and oral submissions in support of his release on parole.  She referred to his completion of all rehabilitation programmes and to his frustration at not being able to further progress his time in reintegration activities.  She concluded with a submission that Mr Waa’s risk was manageable in the community having regard to the work he had completed, to the support he had available to him in the community and to his release conditions.
  5. When he is released from prison, Mr Waa is proposing to live [withheld] north of Dunedin.  [withheld].
  6. Mr Waa’s offending appears to have occurred in Dunedin.  It involved what was effectively a home invasion and very concerning violent sexual offending.  It is the Board’s view that when he is released from prison there will need to be a significant distance between his residence and the wider area in which his victim lives.  We identify that as an issue on which the Board seeks further information and invite his case manager to initiate inquiries with the officer in charge of the case or the appropriate police authority to confirm the relevant area.
  7. Mr Waa completed a safety plan when he graduated from the Special Treatment Unit Programme.  That is not with the Board, but he prepared a hand-written plan which is inadequate so far as the Board is concerned.  We raised that issue with his case manager and invited him to assist Mr Waa to revisit the matter and strengthen the plan.
  8. As that Board has made clear, we regard a thorough reintegration process as important in Mr Waa’s case having regard to the seriousness of his offending and his past history of non-compliance.  He is, we understand, being seriously considered for transfer to the Self‑Care Units and the Board supports that.  We also support his progress on working outside the wire and any other reintegration activities, including guided releases and, if possible, release to work.  Mr Waa will need the opportunity to consolidate and demonstrate the gains he made in treatment. Until that work is completed and the other matters we have referred to have been resolved, we could not be satisfied that his release would not pose an undue risk to the safety of the community
  9. Parole is declined.  He will be scheduled to return to the Board in nine months, by 30 October 2025.

Mr N Trendle

Panel Convenor