Rotorua sex attacker Hipirini Mead to remain behind bars

A Rotorua man who sexually violated a teen girl in a violent attack while using a gang slogan will remain behind bars.

Hipirini Mead, 21, has appeared before the New Zealand Parole Board for the second time since he was sentenced in June 2013 to seven years and 10 months in prison.

The parole board has heard that in the past year Mead has incurred five misconducts. He had previously been on directed segregation within the prison because of his behaviour.

He has told the parole board that the prison system is all he knows and to him "jail is nothing".

Mead was 17 when he took a 14-year-old girl into bushes where he sexually assaulted her in the grounds of Rotorua Girls' High School.

Mead was originally charged with rape but that charge was dropped. The court heard at the time she had only agreed to have sexual intercourse with Mead because she feared she would otherwise be subjected to a group rape.

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Facts read out in court in 2013 said Mead and his group of friends had argued with the girl earlier on a night in March in the central city.

She was later intercepted by Mead's group as she walked home alone through the school.

The four young men surrounded her, touching her body, until Mead said "nah she's mine".

He pushed and pulled her to secluded bushes where Mead had sexual intercourse with the girl then violated her with his fist, saying "this is how we do it Mongrel styles". He then stole her bag and fled, leaving the girl injured and bleeding profusely.

He was jailed for unlawful sexual connection, assault and theft.

Judge Chris McGuire said at sentencing Mead treated the victim "like a piece of meat".

The parole board decision said Mead was taken off a drug treatment programme with Mead telling the board he didn't want to do it because he "got nothing out of it".

He was also yet to attend an Adult Sex Offender Treatment Programme, although there was some confusion whether he met the criteria and would instead need to have individual treatment with a psychologist.

Mead told the parole board he would like to concentrate on work training because he believed that would be better for him when he got out of prison.

Mead told the parole board prison was all he knew.

"He says that he was brought up in the system so for him jail is nothing. He also says that he left school at primary level," the decision said.

Mead said he was not interested in school then but he was now.

The board described Mead as remaining an undue risk and declined his parole.

He will go before the board again in August next year. In the meantime the board urged him to "give serious consideration" to completing rehabilitation.