Former Marist Brother denied parole, faces new charges

The Parole Board said alleged victims of Charles Afeaki’s historical offending are still coming forward. He is facing two further sets of pending charges.

“We need to know where these charges are going,” said panel convenor Judge Jane Lovell-Smith. “At present, the department won’t do [a psychological assessment] because you have all these active charges.”

She noted that the board needed to be satisfied that Afeaki is not an undue risk.

Afeaki has pleaded not guilty to both the pending sets of charges and has elected a judge-alone trial. A date has not yet been set. His lawyer confirmed that the pending charges are not suppressed.

During the Parole Board hearing, Judge Lovell-Smith said that Afeaki’s next parole hearing is set for April. But she also noted that a lot could happen between now and then – including charges possibly being dropped due to the time elapsed since the alleged offending. If there was a major change in circumstances, she said, Afeaki’s lawyer could apply for an urgent hearing to reconsider parole.

Afeaki’s lawyer had strongly urged his release during the hearing, describing his client as a model prisoner and a low risk due in part to his significant health issues.

Afeaki has 40 criminal convictions for child sexual abuse involving eight confirmed victims. The two pending sets of charges concern two further persons.

He has not been accused of current offending for over two decades, but the number of his known victims from earlier has steadily grown. He has been in and out of prison since the 1990s, when he was first convicted of abuse.

FULL STORY

Ex-Marist brother and serial paedophile Charles Afeaki denied parole (By Craig Kapitan/New Zealand Herald)

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