9 Mar 2011

Parole Board rejects health plan for paedophile

4:18 pm on 9 March 2011

The Parole Board has rejected a proposal for the care of one of New Zealand's oldest jailed paedophiles whose health is failing.

Donald Liddington, 73, is serving a sentence of preventive detention for sexual offences against young girls, including the rape of a pre-schooler.

The exact nature of his condition is being kept confidential, but it requires hourly checks by prison medical staff, said to be under great strain.

The Parole Board says the prognosis leaves no room for optimism.

In November last year, it urged health and prison authorities to co-operate and find Liddington a secure place to live in the community.

The board says there is no advantage in pursuing the plan it has received because it does not stipulate whether a facility exists that can offer the necessary care.

Liddington will remain in jail unless experts formulate a revised plan, covering both his care and supervision, by the end of March.