Samuel Anderson (32) was released from prison last week after serving nearly all of his four-year-five-month term.
Among his conditions was a ban from entering Dunedin but the victim said her complex PTSD had been triggered after she heard rumours he had returned to the city.
"I’m just trying my best to move on with my life. Since he had been in prison, I ... have really made strides to live a happy, wholesome life," the woman told the Otago Daily Times.
"I just hope that other women don’t end up victim to this remorseless, repeat offender."
Anderson was jailed on four counts of assault with intent to injure, one of threatening to kill and one of supplying a class B drug, all of which were committed while he was on parole for earlier offending.
The court heard the couple had only been together a couple of months in February 2018, when the abuse began.
Anderson head-butted her, knocking her unconscious, then splashed water on her to revive her, only to punch her in the face.
Weeks later a dispute over a cellphone led to him pinning her down, pulling her fingers back, trying to gouge her eye, elbowing her in the face, slamming his knee into her tailbone and forcing a pillow against her face.
The relationship ended when Anderson tried to strangle the victim and she bit him on the arm, resulting in him seeking hospital treatment.
At a later meeting, the court heard, the defendant accused her of seeing another man and threatened to kill both of them, before punching her in the face several times.
The victim escaped as Anderson went to get a hammer.
At the time of his release the man was a minimum-security prisoner at the Otago Corrections Facility.
In March the Parole Board heard Anderson had to be reminded of prison rules and had lost his job in the kitchen because of his behaviour.
More recently, though, his conduct had improved.
"He talked about his addictive personality and how his family would pull him up if they knew he was on drugs but when he was on methamphetamine, he had withdrawn from them," panel convener Mary More said.
She was concerned Anderson had refused a whanau hui to share his safety plan with supporters and directed that he would only be released if the meeting took place.
Parole conditions
- To live at an address approved by Probation.
- Not to possess alcohol or illicit drugs.
- To attend any assessments and treatment as directed.
- Not to contact victims.
- To inform Probation of intimate relationships.
- To submit to electronic monitoring.
- To abide by a 10pm-6am curfew.
- Not to enter Dunedin.
