December 05, 2008

Sex offender believed he had an 'aura'

A sentence of preventive detention has drawn a line under 30 years of offending by Stefan Woolfe-Hogan.

The open-ended prison term was imposed by Justice Christine French in the High Court at Christchurch.

She ordered a five-year minimum non-parole term as a part of the term, telling Woolfe-Hogan: ?You do pose a significant and on-going risk to the community, particularly to young boys.?

Woolfe-Hogan, an unemployed 61-year-old, has been offending for 30 years and has eight previous convictions for sexual offending against boys under 16 years.

His latest offending ? he had pleaded guilty ? involved 11 indecent assaults and two sexual violations involving boys aged 14 and 15. The offending involved touching and oral sex. There were five complainants.

Defence counsel Bridget Ayrey argued that a finite jail term should be imposed rather than an open-ended sentence of preventive detention because of Woolfe-Hogan?s age, his ill health, his remorse expressed in his letter to the judge, and his willingness to undergo a treatment programme.

But Justice French said the pre-sentence report referred to Woolfe-Hogan?s ?very disturbing minimalisation (of the offending) and blaming of the victims?.

Woolfe-Hogan told the report writer that he believed he had an aura which attracted young boys to him.

He had completed a Kia Marama programme for sex offenders in 1990-91 but was regarded by the professionals as a treatment failure.

Crown prosecutor Tim Mackenzie said preventive detention was necessary to protect the community from harm by guaranteeing that Woolfe-Hogan was not released until his risk to the community had been addressed.

Justice French told Woolfe-Hogan: ?There is no doubt that there has been serious harm caused to the community by your offending.?