Laura Frykberg
After three heated meetings, the Wanganui District Council has decided to use all legal avenues to stop Stewart Murray Wilson, known as the 'Beast of Blenheim', being released to a house on Whanganui prison grounds.
But a human rights lawyer says the Whanganui community's anger over a serial sex offender being sent to a house near its prison is hypocritical.
The only other offender to live in a similar situation after release was another notorious paedophile whose victims were in Whanganui, so he was sent to Christchurch.
“It seems somewhat strange that Whanganui is perfectly happy to have him go from its area, to be paroled into Christchurch or Canterbury, yet they don't want to have the same thing happen the other way around,” says human rights lawyer Michael Bott.
Lloyd McIntosh served time for sex attacks on two children and an intellectually handicapped woman in Whanganui. He was sent to a property on Rolleston Prison grounds to be away from his victims
It's the same reason Wilson's being sent to Whanganui, but the mayor says they're not being two-faced by opposing his arrival.
“We're not saying that our offenders should be sent to other places and other people's offender shouldn't be sent here," says Mayor Annette Main. "This particular case has been hoisted on us at short notice and we simply are reacting to the community's concerns.”
Those concerns saw the council last night push for a judicial review of the decision, and try to prevent resource consent for the property being built for Wilson, which councillor Michael Laws says will be costly, but necessary.
“You're a representative of the people you represent and the community is united, I've never seen a community like this in the history of Whanganui,” says Mr Laws.
The council is also considering a campaign of community trespassing or shunning of Wilson, something Mt Bott says will lead to acts of vigilantism.
3 News