Prowler seen as high risk of re-offending
A 24-year-old man was sentenced to prison for over two years for charges relating to his “dysfunctional sexual behaviour”.
Christchurch District Court Judge Brian Callaghan told James Frederick Clark that if the sentence had been shorter he still could not be trusted on home detention, as both his psychological report, and the pre-sentence report, said he was a high risk re-offender without appropriate treatment.
He was sentencing Clark on charges of assaulting a girl, burglary, a representative charge of doing indecent acts with intent to offend two young women, and peering and peeping into a house.
Defence counsel, Clare Yardley said Clark had been having counselling, and he had confessed to doing the indecent acts to the police, who then charged him for them.
Judge Callaghan said in November Clark assaulted a 13-year-old when he stopped the girl cycling through a Christchurch reserve. She began to cry, and he grabbed her school bag to stop her leaving. She kicked out at him and he let her go.
In February he went to a home where a 14-year-old girl was alone. He climbed onto the roof, and fell onto a balcony cutting his hand. He went through an open window to find a plaster which he put on his hand, but then saw a light on beneath the bathroom door where the girl was hiding. He tried the door but left when he found it locked.
He was caught a short time later, and confessed to climbing a tree to look through the bedroom windows of the 12 and 14-year-old girls at the address at least eight times. He said he masturbated if he saw any women undressed.
Judge Callaghan said the effect on the family was dramatic and traumatic, and the risk to the daughters was highly concerning. The girls were young, vulnerable, and had suffered greatly.
He said Clark’s pre-sentence report and psychological assessment painted a concerning picture about the risk to the community, and the focus on young girls. Clark entered premises to further his own sexual dysfunctional needs, he said.
Judge Callaghan sentenced Clark to two years three months, and recommended special treatment for sexual offending against children while he was in prison.
Category: News
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