A victim of notorious rapist and murderer Hayden Taylor has spoken out, saying evidence he is minimising his sexual deviancy shows he is ready to reoffend.
Taylor murdered 18-year-old Nicola Rankin, who was pregnant, in September 1996 and buried her body in a shallow grave in Auckland's Riverhead Forest.
At the time, he was on bail for the kidnapping and rape of Amanda Watt in April that year.
He is serving a life sentence for the murder and preventive detention for the rape.
Hayden Taylor Photo: NZ Police
In declining to release Taylor last month, the Parole Board warned he was still belittling his crimes.
"The most recent parole assessment report states that Mr Taylor continued to believe he has addressed his sexual deviancy but we do not believe him," it said in a ruling last month.
"We believe that Mr Taylor's downplaying and minimising of his past sexual deviancy is of concern because we are satisfied he does not have a true insight into his risk situations."
Speaking for the first time in response to the decision, Ms Watt - who has waived her right to anonymity - said that information was worrying.
"That's very scary. It obviously means that he is ready to reoffend again ... His sexual deviancy is right at the top."
The Parole Board also said it did not believe Taylor's claim there was no sexual element to the murder of Ms Rankin.
"He hasn't changed at all. It's that simple. In nearly 20 years of jail, he hasn't changed at all. In fact, if anything he could be worse," said Ms Watt, who joined Ms Rankin's mother, Carol Rankin, at the Parole Board in early September to argue against Taylor's release.
"Every year gets scarier, because it seems like that year closer that he is going to get out. This is our ninth parole hearing, I think, of him - and we know you can't hold anyone in there forever. This year I was pretty freaking out, but as you've seen through the decision they're far from letting him out - and that is one of the most positive decisions we have had."
Ms Watt had attempted a restorative justice session with Taylor, who had also written to her.
"He wrote a letter to me saying sorry, but it mentioned him 21 times and mentioned me three times - so he is more thinking about himself than his victims."
Taylor's next appearance before the Parole Board comes in November 2017.
