Michael Pearson, jailed for his role in abusing Rotorua toddler Nia Glassie, was denied parole because he still poses a risk to the community.
Pearson, 20, has served 21 months of a three year sentence after being found guilty of wilfully mistreating three-year-old Nia who died of brain injuries in August 2007 after suffering a lifetime of abuse at the hands of her family.
The toddler was spun round in a clothes dryer and was put on a rotary clothes line and spun until she fell to the ground. She was subjected to various violent wrestling moves which at least once resulted in her head being slammed into the floor, causing her nose to bleed.
Pearson, Nia's cousin, became eligible for parole last month but was refused early release.
The Parole Board decision released to Rotorua's Daily Post newspaper this week stated that the risk Pearson posed to the safety of the community "remains undiminished".
When he was sentenced Pearson was assessed as being of high risk of re-offending "with a propensity for violence and substance abuse issues".
The Parole Board said it had seen nothing since to depart from the sentencing judge's assessment.
The pre-release report recommended Pearson attend and complete a "medium-intensity rehabilitation programme" but noted that before that he would need to improve his literacy skills. Pearson also did not presently have stable accommodation.
"If Pearson is to break the tragic cycle that he has become caught up in, it will only be by education, intervention and the acquisition of social and parenting skills so that when he is ultimately released the same kind of events as see him in prison do not re-occur," the board said.
Pearson will have to wait another year before he can appear before the Parole Board again.
Nia's stepfather Wiremu Curtis and his brother Michael Curtis received life sentences for her murder while her mother Lisa Kuka was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to nine years.
Michael Curtis' partner Oriwa Kemp was found guilty of ill-treatment and given three years and four months. She is also due to appear before the Parole Board this month.
