Whyalla youth, 17, faces Christies Beach Magistrates Court after allegedly assaulting aunty of Stacey Lee in Mitchell Park

An Upper Spencer Gulf teenager out on bail allegedly broke into an elderly woman’s house and in a senseless and ‘unprovoked attack’, beat her with a fence paling inside her own home. Now, he’s pleading with a magistrate to return to the community.

A Whyalla teenager had been given “the leniency of the court” to travel intrastate while on bail just a few weeks before he broke into the Mitchell Park home of a popular radio personality’s aunty and beat her with a fence paling in a “mind-boggling” attack, a court has heard.

The boy, 17, applied for home detention bail in the Christies Beach Magistrates Court on Thursday – appearing via video link in front of Magistrate Tracee Micallef and a number of family members who had driven from Whyalla. He is yet to enter any pleas to aggravated theft, aggravated serious criminal trespass, aggravated cause serious harm and two counts of aggravated assault; but did plead guilty to two counts of breach of bail.

It’s alleged, in October, the teen smashed the front window of a 68-year-old woman’s home – the aunt of media personality Stacey Lee – which shattered and cut her face and hands before she was assaulted with a weapon.

A police prosecutor told the court they were opposed to all forms of bail, and that the alleged attack on the “poor lady” was “unprovoked”.

The boy appeared in the Christies Beach Magistrates Court on Thursday.

“This was an elderly lady who was in her own home and she wouldn’t answer the door,” they said.

“He proceeded to bash this elderly lady and she ended up in hospital with quite significant injuries. This poor lady was just in her own home, doing her own thing … It’s mind-boggling.

“At the time of the offending, he was actually subject to seven bail agreements. During this home detention bail, the court has allowed him to travel between October 10 and October 30, allowed him to not have electronic monitoring conditions between those dates and Your Honour would be minded the date of this offending is October 26.

“He was given the leniency of the court on that occasion, and he repays the court and the community by committing these very, very serious offences.”

The alleged attack occurred on Maldon Ave about 3am on Saturday morning in October last year.

The court heard CCTV showed the alleged offender outside the address holding a weapon.

Defence counsel for the boy told the court it was important for their client to return to the Whyalla community to “fulfil his cultural obligations”.

Ms Micallef denied the application for bail and remanded the teen in custody to appear in the Adelaide Youth Court in March.