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Notorious criminal Dean Wickliffe on hunger strike, alleging assault by prison guard

Author
Joseph Los'e,
Publish Date
Tue, 18 Mar 2025, 2:39pm

Notorious criminal Dean Wickliffe on hunger strike, alleging assault by prison guard

Author
Joseph Los'e,
Publish Date
Tue, 18 Mar 2025, 2:39pm
  •  is on day eight of a hunger strike at Springhill Prison, claiming he was beaten by a prison guard.
  • Corrections has told the Herald Wickliffe was hospitalised and the guard in question is not currently at work.
  • Corrections has confirmed an investigation is underway into Wickliffe鈥檚 allegations of violence.

Lifetime parolee Dean Wickliffe is on day eight of a hunger strike in Springhill Corrections Facility, alleging a guard beat him up on March 6 following his recall to prison on March 5, his lawyer Annette Sykes claims.

Sykes said Wickliffe was not only assaulted but also denied his right to contact his lawyer when he was recalled to the facility.

Dean Wickliffe claims he was assaulted in Springhill prison by guards. Photo / Dean Wickliffe
Dean Wickliffe claims he was assaulted in Springhill prison by guards. Photo / Dean Wickliffe

The high-profile criminal was recalled for breaching his parole, after being found living in his car instead of at his approved address.

鈥淚 am extremely worried for this kaum膩tua from Maket奴 whom I have helped over the years reintegrate back into the community鈥 Sykes said.

鈥淗e is desperately trying to spend his last few years in peace on wh膩nau land in the Maket奴,鈥 Sykes told the Herald.

鈥淗e wants to build a house on it.鈥

Dean Wickliffe claims he was assaulted in Springhill prison by guards. Photo / Dean Wickliffe
Dean Wickliffe claims he was assaulted in Springhill prison by guards. Photo / Dean Wickliffe

Sykes said Wickliffe was assaulted because he did not want to be double-bunked at the prison, located between Meremere and Te Kauwhata.

Kym Grierson, Acting Commissioner Custodial Services said the alleged incident on March 6 was under investigation.

鈥淎 prisoner allegedly refused a request to enter his cell and, after throwing an item, took a fighting stance towards staff,鈥 Grierson said.

鈥淔ollowing this, staff intervened and the prisoner sustained injuries while being restrained. He received medical treatment from prison health staff and was taken to hospital on Thursday evening. He returned to the prison early the following morning.

鈥淥ne staff member involved in the incident is not currently at work鈥 Grierson told the Herald.

Springhill Corrections Facility. Dean Wickliffe claims he was assaulted at the prison on March 6. Corrections has confirmed he was hospitalised. Photo / File
Springhill Corrections Facility. Dean Wickliffe claims he was assaulted at the prison on March 6. Corrections has confirmed he was hospitalised. Photo / File

鈥淎s there are active enquiries ongoing in what further information we can provide on this matter at this time.鈥

鈥淲e recognise that given the nature of our work, we must uphold the highest standard of conduct and integrity from all employees. The overwhelming majority of our 10,000 staff act with professionalism and respect. Any large organisation may encounter a few staff who cannot maintain the high standards required, and if we find evidence that our staff don鈥檛 meet these standards, then we take appropriate action.鈥

Grierson also confirmed Wickliffe remained on a hunger strike.

鈥淭he prisoner is drinking liquids but declining to eat food, and our health and custodial staff are working together to support him and encourage him to resume eating鈥 she told the Herald.

鈥淗is health is being monitored by staff, including registered nurses and the prison doctor, and he is being offered a range of wellbeing and support services, including contact with local kaumatua. We appreciate this is a difficult and distressing situation for the man鈥檚 wh膩nau and we will continue to ensure they can maintain close, ongoing contact with him.鈥

Sykes said the the farm where Wickliffe had been living was recently sold and he was forced to live in his car.

鈥淎fter losing his accommodation, he had slept in his car with his two cats. He was arrested and taken into custody on March 5 for not residing at his approved address.鈥

A police spokesperson said because of privacy issues, they could not discuss Wickliffe.

鈥淧olice are unable to respond to queries which seek to establish whether specific individuals or organisations are, or have been, under Police investigation,鈥 the spokesperson said.

Sykes said Wickliffe told her that when he arrived at Springhill he was assaulted.

鈥淯pon arrival at Spring Hill Corrections Facility, Mr Wickliffe was badly beaten.

Dean Wickliffe photographed in 2017. He is one of New Zealand's highest-profile criminals, and the only person to have escaped Paremoremo maximum security prison twice.  Photo: NZ Herald
Dean Wickliffe photographed in 2017. He is one of New Zealand's highest-profile criminals, and the only person to have escaped Paremoremo maximum security prison twice. Photo: NZ Herald

鈥淗e received black eyes and a three-inch gash on his forehead. He required hospitalisation to deal with these injuries,鈥 Sykes said.

鈥淚 tried to contact Dean and couldn鈥檛 get through. I was then told he didn鈥檛 want to talk to me, which I found odd and I sent several emails to the prison and finally got a call from him on Friday and he described what happened.

鈥淚 am appalled at this treatment. No one should ever be treated like this in prison, ever, and certainly not a 77-year-old kaum膩tua who had turned his life around living a peaceful life in Maket奴. He was bothering no one, in fact he has huge support from his community and friends who have rallied together to help him,鈥 said Sykes.

Lawyer Annette Sykes told the Herald her client just wants to be treated with dignity. Photo/ Ben Fraser
Lawyer Annette Sykes told the Herald her client just wants to be treated with dignity. Photo/ Ben Fraser

鈥淗e wants to be treated with dignity, and he wants a fair hearing when he has his liberty determined by the Parole Board on 3 April.鈥

鈥淚 truly fear for his safety. This ... raises broader questions ... about the treatment of elderly and vulnerable individuals within our correctional facilities鈥 said Sykes.

Wickliffe has a long criminal history. He is the only person to have escaped Paremoremo maximum security prison twice, in 1976 and 1991 and before being paroled in 2018 was the country鈥檚 longest serving inmate.

Joseph Los鈥檈 is an award winning journalist and joined 九一星空无限 in 2022 as Kaupapa M膩ori Editor. Los鈥檈 was a chief reporter, news director at the Sunday 九一星空无限 newspaper covering crime, justice and sport. He was also editor of the NZ Truth and prior to joining 九一星空无限 worked for urban M膩ori organisation Wh膩nau Waipareira.

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