Newspaper's judgement questionable - lobby groupLobby group Rethinking Crime and Punishment has questioned the judgement of editors at The Herald on Sunday newspaper after two female journalists claimed they were indecently assaulted by the country's youngest convicted killer.
The women have laid a formal complaint with police alleging that 20-year-old Bailey Junior Kurariki exposed himself to them and indecently groped them.
The pair, a reporter and photographer from the Herald on Sunday, had gone to Kurariki's Auckland home on Thursday to interview him after a one month prison sentence for wilfully damaging a television camera.
Rethinking Crime and Punishment director Kim Workman said the decision to send two female reporters without male escorts was "beyond comprehension".
"Bailey Kurariki dislikes the media, and hates The Herald," he said.
The newspaper had "surreptitiously" photographed him on a number of occasions, and had hassled him outside court, he said.
Kurariki was 12 when he was involved in the killing of pizza delivery man Michael Choy in 2001.
He was jailed for seven years for Mr Choy's manslaughter and released in May 2008, four months before his sentence ended.
He was set strict conditions by the Parole Board, but police and the Department of Corrections have not been able to stop his repeated offending and he has been involved in a string of incidents including assault.
Mr Workman said Kurariki was a volatile young man.
"If this allegation is true, then it would seem to be a reaction to an extremely stressful situation, he could only have seen it as yet another violation of privacy," he said.
"The Herald have shown themselves to be uncaring of the safety of their staff, and lacking insight into the way institutionalised offenders may react to people from a profession which represents everything they hate about the world."
Police yesterday received a formal complaint about Thursday's incident and said charges were likely.
The two women said Kurariki behaved in an erratic and distressing manner during the interview.
They claim he exposed himself to them, masturbated in front of them and groped them before they could escape the house.
His actions took place as his mother, Lorraine West, was lying sick in the house, where she was suffering the effects of treatment for cancer.
The women managed to leave the house when Ms West's partner arrived, distracting Kurariki and creating an opportunity for them to leave.
The Herald on Sunday acting editor Jonathan Milne said the alleged incident was a matter for police and he would not discuss specifics.
"Our concern is the wellbeing of our two staff, who've been through a very upsetting experience," he said.
The women had been offered support and counselling, he said.
"Kurariki had no record of this type of offending. Nonetheless, we will be reviewing our processes to ensure staff are not placed in unduly dangerous situations."
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