Teen who set friend alight denied parole

Matt-Dillion Shannon at the house where he set his friend, Hayden Calder, alight. Photo / Duncan Brown

A teenager who poured petrol over a friend and set him on fire will remain behind bars at least until November, when his parole will be revisited.

Last week the Parole Board declined to release Matt-Dillion Shannon, 19, as he still posed a risk to the public.

Shannon is serving a sentence of three years' jail for setting Hayden Calder alight as he was held down at Shannon's 17th birthday party, in August 2011.

Mr Calder, then 16, was not feeling well and had gone into a bedroom to lie down. Shannon and three friends came in and held him down as Shannon threw petrol on him, and then lit him up.

"It lit up the room and all I could see were shadows of people laughing at me," Calder told the Hawke's Bay Today.

"No one came to help except one of my friends, who helped pat out the fire as I ran out the door.

"The shirt had been burned on to my skin, so when I ripped it off, it tore my back off too."

The Parole Board acknowledged the progress Shannon had made while in prison.

He completed a six-month Drug Treatment Unit programme in April.

"He acknowledged that when he offended, he was dependent upon cannabis," the parole board decision said. "He now has strategies in place for dealing with that."

The board's report said that Shannon had "grown up" and taken responsibility for what he did.

"For the first time he has been able to talk about the issues in his background which allowed him to offend in the dreadful way that he did.

"He has undertaken counselling which has assisted with this, and he is aware that he can apply for ACC counselling at an appropriate time.

"However we are not satisfied that he has reached the point where his risk is not undue."

The board supported a slow and careful re-integration, including temporary releases and taking part in the Release for Work programme.

Shannon's sentence ends on 11 September, 2015.

It is the second time his parole has been declined. The Board will reconsider parole for Shannon in November.