Pedophile wins case over toupee, bald photos
Print Edition
A convicted murderer and child molester in New Zealand won a lawsuit yesterday arguing prison authorities breached his rights by confiscating a toupee he used to disguise himself when fleeing the country.
Phillip John Smith fled to Brazil in November, 2014, while on temporary release from Auckland Prison.
At the time, he was sporting a hairpiece he had been given permission to wear two years earlier “to improve his self esteem.”
When he was recaptured and returned to New Zealand three weeks later the wig was confiscated and images of Smith’s bald pate were splashed across the media when he appeared in court.
“I felt totally belittled, degraded and humiliated,” he told the High Court earlier this month.
Smith was sentenced to life in 1996 for sexually abusing a boy over a three-year period, then tracking down his victim after his family fled to another city.
Smith broke into the family’s house and fatally stabbed the boy’s father as he tried to protect his son.
The 42-year-old told the court the toupee was important to his ongoing rehabilitation as he was extremely sensitive about his baldness.
Judge Edwin Wylie accepted Smith’s argument that the Corrections Department failed to consider his rights when it seized the hairpiece.
“I have concluded that Mr Smith’s fundamental right to freedom of expression was ignored,” he said in a written judgement. “An important right has been breached.”
Victims’ advocate Ruth Money said the Smith case was “embarrassing for New Zealand.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
