Convicted Nowra child killer Austin Allan Hughes, charged with breaching his parole conditions, has been refused bail in Port Macquarie Local Court.Hughes, who was arrested in Kempsey on Friday, will appear in court again on Monday, by video link.The 38-year-old was released from Silverwater Correctional Centre in December 2009 after serving 16 years of his 19-year sentence for bashing to death six-year-old John Ashfield during a prolonged attack in his Nowra home.It is alleged that Hughes breached parole conditions by being in the company of a woman and her children for more than 14 consecutive days and that he had failed to record his change of address.During a brief court hearing on Saturday morning, bail was refused after police opposed Hughes’ application.He will be in custody at a remand centre in Kempsey until his video appearance before Magistrate Thomas Hodgson on Monday.John Ashfield was bashed to death by Hughes and the child’s mother Gunn-Britt Ashfield in an horrific attack on August 4, 1993.John was kicked, punched and had his head placed against a phone book which was hit with a hammer.Pleading for mercy, he was also beaten with a curtain rod, shoved into a cold shower and then had his head smashed on the tile wall repeatedly, all of which was witnessed by his four siblings.Three hours after the assault began, he was taken to Shoalhaven Hospital clinically dead. He was revived and sent to Westmead Children’s Hospital, where he later died from brain injuries.Ashfield, who has since changed her name to Angelic Karstrom, was released from jail in August last year after serving 18 years behind bars.Hughes was freed under strict bail conditions, including that he not contact John’s family or visit the Illawarra. He would have to serve at least 12 months’ jail if he breached those conditions. - with Port Macquarie News