STOLEN CHILDHOODS

Analysing the excuses

Convicted child sex offender Tony* has recently been released from prison. Psychologist Greg Woodcock helps men like Tony face up to what they’ve done to prevent future offending. Edward Gay and Catrin Owen report.

It’s a classic late-summer Auckland scorcher, but Tony doesn’t mind a bit of sun. ‘‘It’s nice to see it. I’ve had 20 months of not seeing much of it, I tell you,’’ he says, sitting overlooking a beach on Auckland’s North Shore.

Tony’s just been released from a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for sexual offending against children.

‘‘In the public’s perception . . . in their eyes, everyone who offends like me, rapes babies and that’s all there is to it, irrespective of your offence, irrespective of what you’ve done, you’ve still committed an offence against a child.’’

He talks about the ‘‘factors’’ that led to his offending, but takes a quick breath before emphasising ‘‘there’s no excuses for any of it’’.

It’s the excuses that psychologist Greg Woodcock helps offenders to analyse. He finds the reasons behind the offending and helps them develop empathy for those they’ve harmed in the hope it will stop them reoffending.

The self-professed ‘‘nosy old man’’ says the demand for his services has never been greater. Woodcock is regularly called on by judges and lawyers to interview offenders and assess their future risk. He also treats men who have a sexual attraction to children.

Woodcock says some of his patients begin by looking at ‘‘mainstream’’ pornography before developing a sexual interest in children. ‘‘It’s like any other addiction, they need more and more.’’

Some of them go on to develop a fixation that affects their relationships, family life, work and finances. Often, they only seek help after an intervention from a family member or close friend. Others only get help when the courts intervene.

‘‘With all types of addiction, whether it be smoking, pornography, drugs … it’s most often an external force that propels the person affected to seek treatment. Either there’s a lack of motivation or they can’t see that there’s a problem.’’

Tony sexually abused young family members when he was in his late teens, but his offending went unreported. He did not get help until years later in prison.

He says at the time of his offending, a family member had just died, and he was shouldering a lot of responsibility.

‘‘How do I explain it? ‘Opportunistic’ is how I would put it, and it was just touching … I keep saying ‘all it was’, I shouldn’t say ‘all it was’... You learn later in life, when you become more of a responsible adult, you shouldn’t be doing those things. Those aren’t the things that adults do.’’

His offending cost him his job and relationships with friends and family. ‘‘It can happen in an instant ... and that instant, that one second, one minute, ruins your whole life. Years and years of love, devotion, working and friendships dissolved like hot water on ice. And those, from what I’ve seen, are irreparable.’’

It was not until he was aged in his 30s that Tony’s offending came to light. He pleaded guilty to all charges, deciding it was ‘‘the best thing for everyone concerned’’. The victims didn’t have to go to court, and he got a lesser sentence.

Tony was initially sent to Mt Eden Prison, before being transferred to Ngawha Prison, in the Far North, where he served the majority of his sentence.

He believes sex offenders can be rehabilitated, but he recalls meeting two who had no hope. ‘‘They both said the minute they are out, they will offend again ... They’re not bothered, they don’t give a s…. Their life is prison, they want to go back to it. That’s how they’re going to do it, by reoffending.’’

E‘‘It can happen in an instant ... and that instant, that one second, one minute, ruins your whole life. Years and years of love, devotion, working and friendships dissolved like hot water on ice. And those, from what I’ve seen, are irreparable.’’ Sex offender Tony*

ventually, after ‘‘nagging’’ his case manager, Tony was given a place on a sex offenders’ programme, led by a psychologist. ‘‘It’s 10 men in a room, discussing all of your offending … it’s pretty eyeopening, heartbreaking, really confrontational and useful in some respects.

‘‘You’ve got to open up, and you have to be truthful. If you’re not truthful, it just doesn’t work. Because we’re all alike, you tend to know who’s bull ........ ’’

The majority of the men opened up but at least two on Tony’s course believed they had done nothing wrong.

At the completion of the course, the psychologist wrote a report on Tony which was forwarded to the parole board.

Corrections refused to be interviewed by Stuff .A spokeswoman instead issued a statement on behalf of general manager of psychology Jessica Borg.

Borg says prisoners who pose a high risk of reoffending are eligible for a high intensity group-based programme that takes about a year to complete. The course pushes inmates to analyse what led them to offend, and helps them develop ‘‘safety plans’’ and manage risk factors.

The programmes are only available at specialist child sex offender units – Kia Marama at Rolleston, near Christchurch, and Te Piriti, at Paremoremo, in Auckland.

They are limited to 10 prisoners at a time, who undergo three-hour sessions, three times a week for nine months. Prisoners with a high or maximum security rating are not eligible.

Borg says a study of the Te Piriti programme found participants reoffended at a rate of 7.08 per cent. A similar group of men who were untreated reoffended at a rate of 7.91 per cent.

She says a second, shorter ‘‘lower-intensity’’ programme is available to prisoners who present a lower risk of reoffending. There is also a support network for former inmates in the community.

Not all sex offenders are treated in prison. Psychologists such as Woodcock provide therapy to private clients which can last up to 20 weeks. It includes the patient working through a 200-page book of exercises that gives them insight into what triggers their offending, and early warning signs.

‘‘What’s good about this,’’ says Woodcock, thumbing

through the book, ‘‘is it encapsulates all the areas that need to be addressed in therapy and the person can’t bull…., they can’t hide’’.

Woodcock explores all areas of his patients’ lives – their childhood, relationships, finances and family life. ‘‘I take a holistic approach. Because I’m a nosy old man, I explore all aspects of their life, not just their sexual offending.’’ The ‘‘vast majority’’ of offenders have been abused themselves.

Like all addicts, his patients often justify their offending to themselves. ‘‘I ask them to explain to me what they did. And I look them right in the eye and say I don’t want any bull .... I can smell it. I say I’m not here to judge you, I’m here to provide some understanding to the court.’’

The excuses vary. Woodcock had one client whose hobby was photographing children. He began by comparing photos he took to those he saw online and, over a period of time, that escalated to viewing images of naked children.

Others blame their failed relationships. ‘‘They’re a man, and they need sexual expression and this is a way they find sexual expression. And again, it normally starts off with noncoercive, non-violent, for use of a better word, ‘normal porn’, and escalates.’’

Woodcock is not afraid to challenge his patients if he feels they’re making excuses or minimising what they’ve done. ‘‘Sometimes they walk out of this office muttering and spluttering, but I always open the door for them, knowing that they’ll be back next week.’’

Some also see images of children being abused as a victimless crime. Woodcock says an important part of his treatment is helping his patients develop empathy for the abused children.

‘‘That is a great way of shoring up the success of the treatment … So that the 12-yearold Asian girl who is half-naked, they just see as a picture, but they start to see that picture as a real person. By purchasing or accessing it, they are providing the incentive for someone in Thailand, or the Philippines, or Hungary, or wherever it is ... to go and seek out those children to be abused.’’

Some sex offenders living in the community can qualify for government-funded treatment. North of Taupo¯ , that responsibility lies with an organisation called the Safe Network, which receives public money to treat child sex offenders.

Senior members of the organisation were initially willing to take part in an interview but later declined. No reasons were given.

The organisation’s website says Safe offers courses for children and adults who have harmful sexual behaviour. That includes possessing and sharing images of children being abused. The organisation also has tailored courses for Ma¯ ori and Pasifika offenders.

Safe assesses the person, usually over two or three interviews with their family members and supporters. The organisation will collect relevant information from government agencies such as police or Oranga Tamariki, and the person undergoes psychological tests to see if they are suitable for a place on the programme.

If accepted, they will take part in a programme that lasts anywhere between six and 18 months. It includes group sessions and one-on-one counselling, as well as family sessions.

Safe’s website says research carried out in 2003 showed about 95 per cent of adults who completed one of its programmes would not engage in ‘‘further harmful sexual behaviour’’.

Once Tony had finished his course, he began preparing for his parole board hearing in an attempt to convince the board he was no longer a threat to the community.

He says about 80 per cent of what he told the board was true. ‘‘You tell them what they want to hear. Or what they need to hear, but it’s like anything, if you tell yourself something enough, you’re going to believe it.’’

Once released from prison, Tony had to report to probation services. He had various release conditions, including not to visit certain areas where the survivors of his offending live. Another was not to be around children.

His probation officer went through the rules with him and even gave him advice about supermarket shopping.

‘‘They told me ‘when you walk down the supermarket aisle, if you see a child coming, you’ve got to go and walk in the other aisle’. I don’t think like that, I’ve never thought like that.

I’ve made stupid choices in my life, in circumstances that were partially out of my control, not completely, but partially.’’

There was also a requirement for him to tell his probation officer if he begins a new relationship.

‘‘I’ve met a lady now, I’ve told her about my conviction. I’ve shown her all the paperwork and told her what’s involved and ‘let’s move on’, that’s what her words were: ‘We’ll get past it and move on’ because she’s found the real me – not the past me.’’

Tony says his prison sentence has only been a part of the overall punishment. ‘‘Your karma is losing everything you ever had basically, that’s part of the punishment as well. That took a long time for me to get my head around, a long time, but you do, you have to, you have to move on.’’

He’s largely given up on ever working again. ‘‘There’s only a few employers out there that will employ ex-prisoners, but there’s none out there that would employ CSOs [child sex offenders].’’

He says that makes it hard to move on with his life.

But it’s not just the inability to work and earn money that weighs on him. He still thinks about his offending.

‘‘It’s a hard thing for me to keep handling every day. Not just daily but it’s every minute.

‘‘You think about what you’ve done, how do you get past that, how do you carry on?

‘‘I tried committing suicide before I went inside. It didn’t work, thank God.’’

He says sex offenders deserve a second chance at taking part in society.

‘‘We don’t all rape babies, and we don’t all go out every night and try and find people and find things to do, it’s just not like that, not for everybody.’’

*Name changed.

Help for sexual violence Rape Crisis 0800 883300. Safe to talk: a 24/7 confidential helpline 0800 842 846, text 4334, webchat safetotalk.nz or email support@safetotalk.nz. The Harbour Online support and information for people affected by sexual abuse. Women’s Refuge 0800 733 843 (females only). Male Survivors Aotearoa Helplines across NZ (males only).