Deportee continues life of crime

BY IAN STEWARD

A man who attempted to rape a woman in Christchurch in a terrifying six-hour ordeal had been deported from Australia a year earlier for multiple offences.

Violent criminal Shane Terry Chapman, now 30, had been deported in 2007 to his native New Zealand despite living across the Tasman for 23 years from the age of five.

He reoffended in Christchurch – kidnapping, strangling and attempting to rape a woman, then sparking a two-hour armed standoff with police.

Chapman was one of 41 New Zealanders deported from Australia in 2007/2008.

Figures obtained from Australia's Department of Immigration and Citizenship show more than 150 New Zealanders have been sent home since 2003 for failing to meet the good character requirements of their visas.

Australia has laws that allow it to deport criminal New Zealanders no matter how long they have lived in Australia. In New Zealand, a resident who has lived here for more than 10 years cannot have their visa cancelled for criminal offending.

Kiwi-born Patricia Toia, who moved to Australia as a baby, lost a five-year legal battle and was returned to New Zealand this year.

Toia – a drug addict since 13 – had been jailed 30 times in Australia for offences including robbery, assaults, drug trafficking and driving while disqualified.

Chapman was sentenced this month in the High Court in Christchurch by Justice French.

In September 2008, Chapman detained a woman in her Christchurch house, strangling her until she lost consciousness.

When she came to, he took her into the bedroom, where the attempted rape took place.

The ordeal lasted six hours, and the judge said the woman believed she would die.

Police found him close to the woman's house, but he surrendered only after a two-hour negotiation in which he threatened to kill himself and asked police to shoot him.

Chapman pleaded guilty to unlawful detention, injuring with intent, attempted sexual violation by rape, and two charges of threatening to kill.

The judge said Chapman avoided preventive detention – the most serious punishment for dangerous recidivist offenders – "by a narrow margin".

She sentenced him to 9 1/2 years with a minimum non-parole period of six years, two months.

The judge said Chapman had lived in Australia from 1984 to 2007 when he was deported to New Zealand.

His offending had "strong parallels" with his criminal history in Australia.

At 17, he hospitalised another teenager and at 18 he stabbed a police officer. In 2001, he was convicted of "unlawful stalking".

He was jailed for offences including assaults with knives and sparking an eight-hour seige with police.

Massey University immigration academic Jerry Hubbard said Australia had wider deportation powers than New Zealand.

"I suspect the Australian system is designed to get rid of undesirables and if you can, lump them over the Tasman ..."

New Zealand had a "somewhat limited power" to deport criminals to their home countries.

Inspector John Price, of the Christchurch police, said information on offenders moving between Australia and New Zealand was normally exchanged through an Interpol liaison at Police National Headquarters.

Prisoner Aid and Rehabilitation Society (PARS) Canterbury manager Jane Hossack said support was needed for deportees, as coming out of prison was challenging enough, without the added challenge of a new country. "You're starting from scratch. It's a daunting prospect."

Some ex-prisoners would have family support around them but some, particularly those who had lived overseas for long periods, would lack support, she said.

"Where people are isolated, that can be a trigger for reoffending."

- © Fairfax NZ News