07-05-2025
Rapist Noah Matthews denied parole after breaching bail 47 times
A psychologists' report assessed Noah Matthews as having "above average" risk of reoffending.
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Warning: This article discusses rape and sexual assault.
A teenager jailed for rape has been denied parole after repeatedly breaching bail conditions and having a risk of further sexual offending.
Noah Peter Matthews was 16 when he raped and sexually violated another teenager in 2022, court documents showed.
The young woman was with Matthews in his house and asked to leave, but he responded "not yet", choked her, and raped her, the documents stated.
Matthews, who is now 19, admitted charges of rape and unlawful sexual connection in the Youth Court, and was sentenced in Hutt Valley District Court in December in 2024 to three years in prison.
The sentencing decision was transferred to the District Court despite Matthews' young age because he did not engage in a treatment programme, Judge John Walker's sentencing notes showed.
In the victim's mother's submission to Parole Board, she noted he broke bail conditions 47 times,
The Herald
reported.
At sentencing, the victim pleaded for Matthews to take any help offered to him, Walker's notes said.
A psychologists' report assessed Matthews as having "above average" risk of reoffending, Walker said.
He said the report referred to "disrupted attachments" during his childhood contributing to him struggling with relationships, which were underscored by violence.
Matthews likely equated sex with intimacy and "when told no, violence is likely to be the first resort for you," Walker wrote.
The Parole Board last month denied Matthews' bid for parole due to his failure to attend a treatment programme, repeated breaches of his bail conditions before sentencing, and the lack of a further psychological assessment.
The decision said Matthews was first denied parole in January 2025.
He was to receive a psychological assessment following that, but that was delayed because he was appealing his sentence, it said.
He was also waitlisted for a drug and alcohol rehabilitation programme.
The Board needed that psychological assessment - which would also include recommendations for rehabilitation - for clarity on his risk of reoffending.
"Mr Matthews was assessed before sentence at above average risk. Nothing has yet been done to reduce that risk," the decision said.
"There are factors in evidence regarding his personality characteristics which are also relevant to risk.
"His performance on bail conditions gives no confidence that he can be trusted to commit fully to the rehabilitation necessary outside the structure of the prison."
The Board formally requested a psychological report, and said Matthews would be reconsidered for parole in September.
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
