The Court of Appeal has quashed a sentence of preventive detention imposed on a repeat sex offender at the High Court in Christchurch.
Stephen John McDonald was sentenced to preventive detention with a minimum term of imprisonment of seven years, after he admitted to charges including the sexual violation of a boy aged between nine and 12.
Justice Pankhurst told McDonald at his sentencing in December last year that the offending was extremely serious and a finite sentence was not appropriate.
However, the Court of Appeal decision released on Tuesday says the need for public protection is met by a determinate sentence, coupled with the availability of extended supervision.
The preventive detention sentence has been replaced with a 10-year jail sentence, with a minimum jail term of six years and eight months to be served.
