Taranaki rapist Allan Rosewarne denied parole, remains a risk of violent, sexual reoffending

RNZ News

2 days ago

By Tara Shaskey, Open Justice reporter of
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Warning: This story discusses a case of extreme violence and sexual offending.
Allan Neil Rosewarne has been described as a sex monster.
He took control of two of his partners across 18 years, alienating them from family and friends while he regularly raped and mercilessly beat them.
One was often injected with a cocktail of drugs by Rosewarne, who would then brutally violate her while she was unconscious.
The other took an opportunity to run for her life along a highway and across farmland after 17 years of torture.
It's now been 11 years since Rosewarne, of Taranaki, was jailed to preventive detention for his reign of rape, extreme violence, sadism and cruelty to children.
But he continues to minimise the abuse, "emphatically" denies he raped his former partners, and remains a risk to the public, according to the Parole Board.
Recently, the board made its second consideration of releasing Rosewarne, now 59, on parole.
He became eligible for release about two years ago, but he waived his appearance before the board at his first hearing in July 2023.
Late last month, he was called again, and this time he appeared. He did not want a lawyer to assist him, and he filed written submissions.
Rosewarne was unsure he wanted parole but wished to know what conditions might be imposed if he did get out.
However, any chance he would be freed has been shelved for at least three years, as the board declined his parole and made a postponement order so he would not have another hearing until 2028.
A decision released to NZME this week detailed how Rosewarne was told at the hearing that his victims never wanted him released, and they were "doing well" despite his offending against them.
In response to this, he said he only pleaded guilty because so many charges were laid against him, and he accepted a plea bargain.
"He accepted that he was violent towards both his partners, although he said he only hit them with an open hand and never punched them. This is contrary to the summary of facts," the decision read.
"He emphatically denied ever raping his partners. He did accept that his partners may have been scared of him, but he could not see that their fear may have led them to have sex with him despite not consenting."
The decision stated that Rosewarne did not meet with the psychologist for a risk assessment before the hearing or with his case manager to assist in preparing a report for the board.
He had no release proposal, and no support was referred to.
However, Rosewarne has participated in three sessions of treatment with a psychologist during his time behind bars and told the board he would be willing to engage in more.
The board said further treatment was needed to "begin to try and address" his offending.
"We remain concerned about the risk posed by Rosewarne, given the very serious offending that he committed and his minimisation of most of that offending in our discussion today," the board wrote.
"He needs to do extensive work to address both his risk of violent re-offending and his risk of sexual reoffending. He is an undue risk, and parole is declined."
The board said it would not be suitable to consider him for release for another three years.
In 2014, Rosewarne was sentenced in the High Court at New Plymouth to an indefinite prison term with a minimum period of imprisonment of 10 years.
According to senior courts' decisions on the case at the time, he was 24 when he met his first victim, who was 15 at the time.
When she moved in with him in 1990, he "had emotionally taken control of her and had alienated her from her family and friends", an earlier Court of Appeal decision, declining his appeal against sentence, read.
"[He] began to subject [her] to frequent and devastating emotional, physical and sexual abuse, which escalated as time passed".
Rosewarne threw her into walls, punched her repeatedly about her face and body, pulled out chunks of her hair, severely beat her with weapons, and jumped on her with both feet while she was pregnant.
She received black eyes, on occasion her nose was broken, and she was subjected to "forceful and painful sexual intercourse… for lengthy periods of time".
The woman escaped one day in 2007 when he fell asleep and she left, making her way along Forgotten World Highway and across farmland.
Rosewarne began a 20-month relationship with his second victim around 2008.
According to court documents, he also subjected her to frequent emotional, physical and sexual abuse.
"Over the course of their relationship, [Rosewarne] injected her with a cocktail of drugs. He controlled what [she] took and administered the drugs to her. Often she did not know exactly what was being given to her."
He often raped her while she was unconscious from the drugs. She eventually developed a substance addiction, and he would torture her with withdrawals.
Rosewarne beat the woman with household objects, grabbed her by her hair and dragged her through the house, and repeatedly punched her in the head.
He was also convicted on cruelty charges relating to the women's children.
At the time, Rosewarne was dubbed a "sex monster" by the media that covered the case.
Sexual Violence:
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- This story originally appeared in the
New Zealand Herald