A judge has admitted making a mistake when he granted a 16-year-old boy bail, after he went on to brutally beat an 18-year-old woman.
The Dunedin District Court heard that in Dunedin in July last year, he punched the victim six times and stomped on her head, leaving her with a broken nose, a cracked cheekbone and eye socket and a split lip.
Judge Kevin Phillips had previously put the teen on electronically monitored bail, and his case was transferred from the Youth Court to the District Court so he could receive intensive counselling.
"You rejected anything that was put in place to help you," Judge Phillips told him, NZME reports.
He reportedly said the teen "shouldn't have been on bail" and "it was against my better judgement and I have to take responsibility".
The teen attacked the young woman because she'd been "saying bad things" about him.
Judge Phillips said the defendant had been surrounded by gangs, drugs, and violence and had no chance or opportunity in life. He'd been taken into care as a two-year-old, and moved home 13 times in a single year. As a 13-year-old he was living in a car.
He was jailed for three years and two months, NZME reports.
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