Alleged steel pole bashing in state care as carer watches on

A teen living in a Child Protection home allegedly bashed his housemate – also in the state’s care – and then is alleged to have twice told him to drop the charges.

A northern suburbs home used to accommodate children in the care of the state was the location of an alleged violent assault involving two young men living there.

A fight between the two boys, one of them aged 17, allegedly turned violent when the 17-year-old assaulted his housemate in early November with a metal pole as a care worker watched on, a court has heard.

The teen, who cannot legally be identified as he was a youth at the time of the allegations, last week appeared in the Elizabeth Magistrates Court which heard he had then allegedly twice threatened to bash the victim of the assault if he did not drop the charges.

A police prosecutor told Magistrate Mark Semmens he was opposed to bail, detailing the seriousness of the allegations.

“A witness, who’s their carer, observed the defendant striking (the alleged victim) with a metal pole,” he said.

A stock photo of an assault. Picture: iStock

“(Seventeen days later) he was at the Smithfield train station and he was approached by the defendant who threatened him to drop the charges, or else.

“(Six days later) … he approached the victim at the Elizabeth train station and made more threats stating, ‘it’ll only take one phone call for a bunch of people to run through your house’.”

The court heard, while facing the Youth Court matters, the teen, who is now 18 and classed as an adult, allegedly twice breached a bail agreement entered into over the charges.

He is yet to enter pleas to any charges.

One of those breaches, the court heard, came after he was attacked in Adelaide by six men and received serious injuries to his head from a baseball bat, resulting in a hospital stint and brain surgery.

The teen allegedly threatened his alleged victim at the Elizabeth train station (pictured). Picture: Google

The Smithfield train station (pictured). Picture: Google

Tyson Leung, duty solicitor for the teen, said the Child Protection Department had told the teen he did not need to attend court in the wake of that assault, which led to him being charged with a breach of bail for missing court.

The Child Protection Department was asked when they became aware of the alleged assault, what protections were put in place to protect the alleged victim and what support had been given to the alleged victim.

A spokeswoman did not directly answer the questions, instead saying the department did not comment on individual matters “to protect the privacy of children, young people and their families”.

“DCP staff in residential care are highly skilled in working with children and young people in care and are provided with ongoing specialist training and support,” the spokeswoman said.

The department was also asked what the minimum staffing requirement for residential care settings was, and if that minimum was fulfilled at the time of the alleged assault.

“DCP employs 643 residential care staff, with 38 more residential care staff employed than this time last year,” the spokeswoman said.

The teen will next face the Youth Court later this month.