Prison guard assaulted after calling inmate a ‘dog’

Court heard inmate felt ‘extreme pressure’ to respond with violence towards a correctional officer who had called the 20-year-old a ‘dog’ in front of fellow inmates.

An inmate of Clarence Correctional Centre has faced court for assaulting a prison guard.

A PRISON guard was violently attacked by an inmate who felt pressured to retaliate with violence after he was labelled a "dog" in front of other inmates, a court has heard.

Kane Andrews appeared in Grafton Local Court on Monday where he pleaded guilty to assaulting a law enforcement officer inflicting actual bodily harm.

The court heard the 20-year-old was incarcerated in Clarence Correctional Centre when on October 13 this year he was approached by a correctional officer in the prison yard, and accused Andrews of being a "dog" in front of other inmates.

Andrews' solicitor Anne-Alece Johnston told the court her client felt concerned for the safety of his partner on the outside as a result of this accusation and feared other inmates could target him or his family as a result of what the correctional officer had said.

Later that same day the court heard the prison guard again approached Andrews, who felt "extreme pressure" from other inmates to take action against the officer who labelled him a dog. An altercation between the pair then took place with Andrews punching the officer a number of times to the face, which resulted in the officer being taken to hospital for treatment.

Magistrate Kathy Crittenden adjourned the matter for sentence to December 21.

Originally published as