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Andre Port
.
Attacked a female corrections officer with a knife at Rolleston prison in 1998
Sexually motivated attacks on two Christchurch women on the same day in 1997
Also attacked a fellow inmate in Paremoremo in 2006
Abducted and sexually assaulted two more women while under supervision in May 2008
.
.
none known
Born 1981
Prison
Sentenced to just 2 years "community supervision" in April 2007
Previously sentenced to 4 years in late 1997 for the two Christchurch attacks
Then sentenced to another 6 years in 1998 for the attack on the prison officer
Sentenced to preventive detention with a 7 year minimum non-parole period in March 2010
Background
NZ Herald story here
From Stuff story 24th April 2007 here
A Christchurch sex offender has been given a community-based sentence 11 years after being identified as one of the most dangerous youths in New Zealand. Andre Charles Port has continued to offend violently despite hundreds of thousands of dollars being spent on his rehabilitation.
Port, 26, has been assessed as having a high risk of further offending but was sentenced to supervision this month by a High Court judge, who said rehabilitation remained a higher priority than holding him accountable or denouncing his actions.
The sentence has been decried by the Sensible Sentencing Trust as putting his needs ahead of those of the community. Trust spokesman Garth McVicar said the time for rehabilitation was long gone and the safety of the community had to be paramount.
The High Court in Auckland was told Port was born with foetal alcohol syndrome and was placed in care at the age of four, went to the Kingslea youth detention centre at the age of 10 and had spent most of his adult life in jail for a series of violent or sexual attacks. By 1996, more than $250,000 had been spent on attempts to rehabilitate him but Christchurch police were so concerned about the risk he posed that they circulated photographs of him to schools in his area.
In 1997, Port separately attacked two Christchurch women – one with intent to commit sexual violation in the women's shower of the YMCA and another in an office toilet – on the same day. He later told police he did not know either victim but "just wanted to hurt women". He was sentenced to four years jail by Christchurch District Court Judge Stephen Erber, who described Port as dangerous and assessed his risk of further offending was high if not certain.
Port was jailed for a further six years the following year for attacking a female prison officer while doing a sex offenders' rehabilitation course in jail. He confronted her in a staff toilet and attacked her with a large knife, reportedly saying: "I don't want to hurt you, Miss, but an officer has to go down tonight." The officer managed to calm Port down and convince him to hand over the knife.
In the High Court this month, Port was sentenced for injuring convicted murderer Jason Ferguson, a fellow inmate at Paremoremo jail's special needs unit. Justice Venning said Port was on drugs for depression and to control mood swings, had borderline mental retardation and personality disorder, and an anti-social type behaviour, but his difficulties were not sufficiently severe to be able to order compulsory treatment under the Mental Health and Intellectual Disability acts.
"It is acknowledged that there is a high likelihood of your re-offending in the future unless you have proper assistance but regrettably, because of the psychiatric reports, it has to be accepted that you cannot be treated under either of those statutes." The judge said the sentence had to hold Port accountable for his actions and denounce his conduct "but most importantly in this case, I have to consider your rehabilitation and reintegration into the community." The Crown was not represented at the sentencing but the judge said it had submitted that a supervision sentence was "perhaps the most appropriate".
Paul Gruar, defending, said he believed Port now had a better understanding of his situation and more maturity than in the past. The judge sentenced Port to two years supervision, with special conditions that he reside at a nominated address, comply with the rules of a residential programme, be supervised by an approved adult when away from the home, get overnight stays away approved in advance, only take a job if approved, not consume alcohol or drugs, maintain medical treatment and place his finances under the control of a budgeting service.
McVicar said it was right to attempt to rehabilitate Port when he was younger but the time had come when safety of the community was a higher priority. "There is no pill you can give these guys to cure them. We need to talk about rehabilitation early on but there's no point at this stage," he said. "He's made his choices. He's chosen his path in life and it's up to the judge now to make sure the public is protected from these sort of people."
From the Sunday Star Times of October 2006
Sex offender Andre Charles Port is charged with attempting to assist the attempted suicide of murderer Jason Mark Fergusson. Police are to carry out a threat assessment of all offenders involved in the case, as the High Court at Auckland prepares to deal with the security risk of having the country's most notorious offenders file through the court to testify against Port. The Crown case is that Fergusson approached a number of inmates in the maximum security wing, among them murderers such as Hotene, asking if they would help him take his life.
It is alleged several refused, until Port agreed to help in return for a Marilyn Manson CD, two Eminem CDs and Fergusson's pens, pencils and pencil case. The Crown alleges the plan fell through when Port became squeamish and could not complete the deal. Port previously made headlines in 1996 when Labour's then justice spokesman, Phil Goff, said that $250,000 had been spent trying to rehabilitate Port, who was then 18. Two years later he was banned from a specialist sex offender programme at Rolleston Prison's Kia Marama unit after he attacked a prison officer with a knife while she was in the toilet.
