A convicted child sex offender who did not seek any rehabilitation while in prison and is now free, will only be supervised for six months.
Photo: 123RF
Stephen Shone, 37, a former Gisborne music teacher, was jailed in 2008 for sex offences against his teenage students after pleading guilty to 11 charges.
The Corrections Department said it would not be applying for an extended supervision order under which it would have been possible to monitor Shone for up to 10 years.
In a hearing last month the Parole Board granted his release, saying it no longer considered him an undue risk to the community.
In a decision released to RNZ, the Parole Board put a change in his attitude and behaviour down to his entrenched Catholic beliefs.
"Mr Shone has expressed his confidence to remain offence free. He told the Board that he has a firm view of what is important in his life and that his Catholic faith will support him in problem solving and decision making."
There is no mention of his religious beliefs in the previous two parole board decisions - in October 2014 and September 2015.
The Board said he was an "untreated sex offender" that had refused rehabilitative efforts from the outset.
"Having turned our minds to the issue of risks, we are satisfied that in all circumstances Mr Shone has met the test that he is no longer an undue risk to the safety of the community."
A list of 11 special parole conditions was set out for Shone, which include complying with electronic monitoring and abiding by a curfew.
He has also been instructed not to contact his victims, directly or indirectly, via any means, including the internet.
Those conditions end in July.
Shone's sentence was due to end on 10 February but the Board allowed his release on 26 January.
A blog by Shone came to light in September last year, where he made comments about one of the girls only having herself to blame and that one of his victim's mothers lied to the police.
