Paul Joseph Dally was being held at a self-care unit at Auckland South Corrections Facility. Photo: RNZ / Kim Baker Wilson
*This story has been updated to remove the reference to the city Dally could be paroled to.
A man who's spent more than three decades in prison for the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl has been told by the Parole Board that they want to see an improved safety plan before his next hearing.
Paul Joseph Dally who kidnapped, raped and murdered Karla Cardno in Lower Hutt in 1989 appeared before the Parole Board on Thursday.
Dally, now in his mid 60s, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1990.
He had previously been denied parole multiple times, and was again declined on Thursday.
The main concerns discussed by the board were that he did not yet have accommodation for after his release and the last safety plan they'd seen was "a bit light."
Dally did provide reassurances that he was working on an improved safety plan which addressed the risk of violent or sexual offending in more detail.
He told the board he believed he was at low risk of reoffending.
When discussing the risk of reoffending and related matters, Dally mentioned several times that he was also "too old".
Dally was engaging with a possible accommodation providers for after he was released.
Currently he was being held in a self-care unit at Auckland South Corrections Facility.
In preparation for release, Dally had been on some organised guided releases, which the board wanted to see continue.
In a previous hearing, Dally had been warned the world was a different place to when he was last in the community.
During Thursday's hearing Dally told the board of a recent successful guided release where he made a purchase at Kmart and visited a furniture retailer to look at a chair.
When asked if there had been any surprises, Dally replied he'd been surprised by some of the prices.
Dally would next be seen by the Parole Board in six months time in April 2026.
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