The man who assaulted and tied up a Sydney teen who was then doused in petrol in her home will remain behind bars.
Lauren Huxley, then 18, suffered life-changing injuries, including permanent brain damage, when she was ambushed by Robert Black Farmer, 39, in her Northmead home in November 2005.
The TAFE student was bashed repeatedly with fibro cutters and bound with electrical cords.
Ms Huxley was left lying unconsciously in a pool of blood and petrol in the garage as Farmer set the family home alight and fled the scene.
Initially given a five per cent chance of survival, she defied the odds to learn how to walk, talk and eat again.
Farmer was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison in 2008, which included a 20-year non-parole period.
It meant that he was first be eligible for conditional release on July 31.
But that was rejected by the NSW State Parole Authority at a closed-door session on Thursday, citing community protection concerns and Farmer’s ongoing denial of the heinous crime that shocked Australia more than two decades ago.
Lauren Huxley (pictured recently) suffered life-changing injuries when she was bashed, bound up and doused in petrol
Robert Black Farmer has spent the last two decades behind bars, where he will remain
The board also cited the expert advice of the Serious Offenders Review Council, which that it was not satisfied that his release was ‘sufficient for his re-integration’.
The council recommended Farmer complete one-on-one risk mitigation sessions with a psychologist ‘given the horrific nature of his violent offence and his ongoing denial’.
Farmer has never admitted guilt or expressed remorse.
‘The authority recognises the profound and enduring harm caused to Lauren and her family by this offending,’ a SPB statement read.
‘We admire their courage and resilience, and our thoughts remain with them. We understand the concerns they have raised and that of the community.’
Farmer will not be reconsidered for parole again until his anniversary date in 2027, but can appeal for a review of the authority’s decision.
Ms Huxley’s family are expected to address the media later on Thursday.
The decision comes just days after Ms Huxley, now, 39, expressed her fears that her attacker could back on the streets within weeks.
Lauren Huxley suffered life-changing injuries when she was attacked and doused in petrol by a stranger in her Northmead home
Lauren Huxley (wearing sunglasses) was pictured leaving court in 2008 after her attacker was sentenced
Lauren Huxley before the November 2005 attack that changed her family’s lives forever
‘It scares me for sure,’ Ms Huxley told A Current Affair’s Ally Langdon.
‘Not just for myself, my family and friends, but also the general public. Because you don’t know … what is he capable of doing next.’
Her sister Simone agreed that it was too soon for Farmer to be released and that it reopened some traumatic wounds for the family.
‘We were grateful for the sentencing he got at the time but, will it ever be enough?’ she said.
Ms Huxley, who will celebrate her 40th birthday later this year, admitted she often thinks about how much different her life would be had she not been attacked.
‘A little bit, but you know what, you can’t go back to the past,’ she said.
‘You’ve just got to move on and deal with what we go through in life.’
