{"id":543331,"date":"2026-07-25T10:35:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T10:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/543331\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T10:35:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T10:35:13","slug":"family-violence-offender-frank-james-walker-must-stay-out-of-dunedin-wear-ankle-bracelet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/543331\/","title":{"rendered":"Family violence offender Frank James Walker must stay out of Dunedin, wear ankle bracelet"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article discusses family violence.<\/p>\n

A judge ordered a repeat family violence offender to submit to GPS tracking on his release from prison after hearing “terror” in the voice of his victim.<\/p>\n

The location-finding ankle bracelet is intended to help probation officers keep Frank James Walker, 44, out of Dunedin, where his victim lives.<\/p>\n

Walker was told to wear it after Judge David Robinson heard a victim impact statement from the woman, who told him she believed that Walker would find her and kill her after being released from jail.<\/p>\n

Walker was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment in April this year after pleading guilty to assault of a person in a family relationship, wilful damage, breaching release conditions and two charges of driving while disqualified.<\/p>\n

He was released almost immediately because of the time he had already spent in prison on remand.<\/p>\n

However, Judge Robinson imposed release conditions that Walker wear the bracelet and stay away from Dunedin. He also granted the woman a protection order.<\/p>\n

Walker has amassed more than 100 convictions over a 28-year criminal history, including for theft, burglary, armed robbery and family violence.<\/p>\n

The family violence offences he has racked up since 2014 include wilful damage, assault on a female and threatening to kill or do grievous bodily harm.<\/p>\n

The woman’s fears about Walker were outlined in a decision in the High Court after he appealed unsuccessfully to have the ankle bracelet removed.<\/p>\n

The courts were told that Walker was in the front passenger seat of the woman’s car when an argument began about their relationship.<\/p>\n

He punched her twice in the back of the head with a closed fist, with such force that her head struck the inside of the vehicle.<\/p>\n

Shortly afterwards, after the woman parked the car, he left the vehicle, disconnected the battery and threw it on the ground, where it broke and leaked acid.<\/p>\n

The woman got out of the car and ran, pursued by Walker, who swung a punch towards her.<\/p>\n

She curled into a ball on the ground to protect her head.<\/p>\n

The woman’s injuries from the assault included bruising to her right shoulder, multiple contusions to her head and a long concussion, which has required treatment from a physiotherapist.<\/p>\n

She also suffered “significant mental trauma”, the High Court decision said.<\/p>\n

“She experiences panic attacks, anxiety, is unable to go out in public alone and has recurrent nightmares of Mr Walker abusing her.<\/p>\n

“The victim believes Mr Walker will come to find her and kill her upon his release from custody.”<\/p>\n

No treatment since 2012<\/p>\n

Walker was described as having a “traumatic” upbringing, with a violent father, a mother who was absent from when he was 3, and being abused while in state care.<\/p>\n

Despite his extensive contact with the criminal justice system, he has not completed any form of treatment since an alcohol and drug programme in 2012.<\/p>\n

He is assessed as having a high risk of reoffending.<\/p>\n

Walker resisted having to wear an ankle bracelet for GPS monitoring on the grounds that he was no longer in a relationship with his ex-partner and because he had no fixed abode, which meant compliance would be “onerous”.<\/p>\n

Judge Robinson, however, said GPS monitoring was “entirely appropriate” because he had a history of ignoring no-contact conditions and because of the “genuine concern” expressed by his ex-partner, who feared he would seriously assault her again.<\/p>\n

“The judge was well-placed to assess this, having heard the victim give her impact statement in court,” the High Court decision issued by Justice Lisa Preston said.<\/p>\n

“He observed a level of emotion and what he assessed as terror in her voice in that regard.”<\/p>\n

The woman also told the court that she was Walker’s only tie to Dunedin and the South Island generally, yet he chose to stay in the region.<\/p>\n

“The judge considered the desire to remain indicated further risk to her,” Justice Preston said.<\/p>\n

Walker appealed to the High Court against the provision of his release conditions that required him to wear the bracelet.<\/p>\n

Justice Preston dismissed his appeal.<\/p>\n

“Considering … the physical and mental injuries Mr Walker caused by this assault, I agree, as the judge found, [that] the GPS tracking conditions are reasonably necessary and proportional for the reasonable concerns of Mr Walker’s ex-partner,” she said.<\/p>\n

Where to get help:<\/p>\n

Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reasonLifeline<\/a>: 0800 543 354 or text HELP to 4357Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 \/ 0508 TAUTOKO. This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friendsDepression Helpline<\/a>: 0800 111 757 or text 4202Samaritans<\/a>: 0800 726 666Youthline<\/a>: 0800 376 633 or text 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nzWhat’s Up<\/a>: 0800 WHATSUP \/ 0800 9428 787. This is free counselling for 5 to 19-year-oldsAsian Family Services<\/a>: 0800 862 342 or text 832. Languages spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Hindi, and English.Victim Support<\/a> 0800 842 846.Rural Support Trust Helpline<\/a>: 0800 787 254Healthline: 0800 611 116Rainbow Youth<\/a>: (09) 376 4155OUTLine<\/a>: 0800 688 5463Aoake te R\u0101 bereaved by suicide service<\/a>: or call 0800 000 053<\/p>\n

If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.<\/p>\n

Women’s Refuge<\/a>: 0800 733 843.It’s Not OK<\/a> 0800 456 450.Shine<\/a>: 0508 744 633.Victim Support<\/a>: 0800 842 846.HELP<\/a> Call 24\/7 (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): 04 801 6655.The National Network of Family Violence Services NZ<\/a> has information on specialist family violence agencies.<\/p>\n

Help Wellington, 048016655<\/p>\n

Help, Auckland 09 623 1296.<\/p>\n

For urgent help: Safe To Talk 0800044334.<\/p>\n

Road Forward Trust, Wellington, contact Richard 0211181043<\/p>\n

Better Blokes Auckland, 099902553<\/p>\n

The Canterbury Men’s Centre, 03 3776747<\/p>\n

The Male Room, Nelson 035480403<\/p>\n

Male Survivors, Waikato 07 8584112<\/p>\n

Male Survivors, Otago 0211064598<\/p>\n

* This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Open Justice<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This article discusses family violence. A judge ordered a repeat family violence offender to submit to GPS tracking…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":543332,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-543331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=543331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543331\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/543332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=543331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=543331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=543331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}