A Dunedin teen who inflicted a prolonged assault on a former girlfriend has been denied parole.
William Alexander Hamish Grant (17) appeared before the New Zealand Parole Board at an undisclosed location last month.
Grant was last year sent to prison for four and a-half years for wounding with intent, following the December 2011 incident.
The board noted members met the victim and her family, who remained concerned about their safety and security and that of the community given ''the severity of the injuries that the victim sustained''.
The victim suffered a broken nose, concussion, cuts, swelling and extreme bruising in the attack and was left with psychological effects. The board also noted the victim's family had received threatening texts and a police investigation was under way.
Grant indicated he was surprised by that, but did not take responsibility for the texts.
The board noted he had not been a ''good inmate'' of the Youth Unit, and had received several sanctions for his misconduct.
The board recorded its concern that four sessions with a psychologist had been terminated because Grant had been ''intimidating and not making progress''.
Other behaviour led to him losing his employment at the Youth Unit.
As he turns 18 next month, he is likely to be transferred to a mainstream unit.
The board noted ''he has substantial work to do on improving his behaviour and trying to reduce a security classification so that he might meaningfully engage in the programmes within the prison''.
The board denied him parole and would see him again in 12 months.
