![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/copy-of-open_justice_web-jpg_new-jpg.webp\")
<\/p>\nBy Ric Stevens, Open Justice reporter<\/p>\n
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
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.<\/p>\n
Family Violence:<\/p>\n
Abuse survivors:<\/p>\n
For female survivors –<\/p>\n
Help Wellington, 048016655<\/p>\n
Help, Auckland 09 623 1296.<\/p>\n
For urgent help: Safe To Talk 0800044334.<\/p>\n
For male survivors –<\/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
<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Ric Stevens, Open Justice reporter This article discusses family violence. A judge ordered a repeat family violence…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":544070,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-544069","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\/544069","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=544069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/544070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=544069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=544069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=544069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}