Stewart Murray Wilson

In May 2017, Wilson met journalist Harrison Christian while fishing at the Whanganui river mouth. He told Christian he was being investigated by police once again for historical rape allegations. He denied all of his offending, and demanded more freedom. In 2018, he was sentenced to two years and four months' imprisonment for those historical rapes. In August 2019, it was announced that he was about to be released again, and as of November 2019 he was residing in a house on the grounds of Whanganui Prison. On 11 October 2021, Wilson died of natural causes in Whanganui hospital, aged 74.

Wilson also spent time at Cherry Farm Psychiatric Hospital during his youth. In a letter to the judge prior to sentencing in 2018, Wilson wrote that he had no memory of the events with which he was charged nearly 50 years before, which he put down to

Wilson was granted parole again in December 2014 and released to live in a house on the grounds of Whanganui Prison where he would be subject to GPS monitoring and supervision if he left the house.

Wilson was recalled on an interim basis in February 2013 after Corrections claimed he had made a phone call to a woman on his blacklisted contacts list. When he appeared before the Board in April 2013, the Board made the recall "indefinite". The Board said he still posed an undue risk to the community after it emerged that he had talked with the woman about leaving the country and said he "remained deceptive in his behaviour and selective in what he chose to disclose to his probation team". This meant that Wilson was likely to remain in prison until the end of his sentence in September 2015, after which release conditions could be imposed for a maximum of six months. The Corrections Department sought an extended supervision order against Wilson for a term of 10 years, starting when his parole or release conditions came to an end.

Prior to his impending release in September 2012, Wilson appeared before the Parole Board at least five times. Each application for early release was turned down. At the age of 65, after 18 years in prison, he was released two days before his statutory release date of 1 September 2012.

Wilson made repeated appearances before the New Zealand Parole Board from September 2006. However, he was not released until his statutory release date in 2012 because he continued to deny responsibility for his offending, appeared to have no remorse, and had not engaged in any treatment. The Corrections Department also claimed he was at high risk of re-offending although his score on the Department's main risk assessment tool (the RoC*RoI) placed him at medium risk.

Wilson said that not only had he been denied any treatment since being sentenced in 1996, he had also been denied one-on-one counselling with a psychologist – again because he would not admit he was guilty. Prior to his release in 2012, he told the High Court he had received only four hours of one-on-one counselling in the 18 years he had been in prison. Wilson said he had also offered to attend a 'Sexual Treatment Outpatients Programme' (STOP) to treat sex offenders, but was not permitted to do so.

His parents divorced during the 1970s. A family friend reported that Wilson's father used to beat his wife and children. Wilson was directed to live in a children's home.

Wilson's criminal record began in 1962 when he appeared in court on burglary charges. Prior to the 1990s, he also had convictions for assaults on females, living off the earnings of a prostitute, and assault on a child. In 1996 Wilson was convicted on sex offences involving 16 female victims from 1972 to December 1994, when he was arrested. The guilty verdicts were for seven charges of rape, one of attempted rape, six of indecent assault, two of stupefying, one of attempted stupefying, two of wilful ill-treatment of a child, three of assault on a female, and one of bestiality. Some of the charges were laid representatively. One of the indecent assaults was of a girl under the age of 16. He was acquitted of two other charges. Wilson was sentenced in March 1996 to 21 years in prison. During sentencing the judge said that he would have given a sentence of preventive detention, except that this option was not available for him to use.

Stewart Murray Wilson (11 December 1946 – 11 October 2021) was a New Zealand sex offender. He was born and raised in Timaru, New Zealand. During his 20s, he lived in Sydney before moving to Blenheim, New Zealand. He was known for serious sexual offences, including criminal acts against children. He served 18 years in prison. In September 2012, he was released on parole with the most stringent release conditions ever imposed on a person in New Zealand. These included that he would be required to live in a house on the grounds of Whanganui prison – which led to public outrage from local citizens and the Whanganui District Council. Wilson was recalled to jail in February 2013 after he allegedly made a phone call to someone he was not allowed to contact.