Parkville detention: Youth inmate allegedly attacked staff member

An inmate at a Melbourne youth justice centre has allegedly lashed out at a worker when he was asked to perform an everyday task.

Parkville Youth Justice Precinct. Picture: David Smith

A man in a Melbourne youth detention centre has been charged after allegedly assaulting a worker who asked that he pick up rubbish off the ground.

He has been accused of assaulting a youth justice custodial worker while he was being detained at the Parkville Youth Justice Centre in 2019.

The Magistrate told the court an attack on a worker is, “a matter that calls for significant penalties.”

The court heard the staffer was attacked after trying to protect another inmate who was allegedly being attacked by the then 18-year-old inmate at the Parkville facility.

The altercation is believed to have been sparked during a TV watching session and quickly got out of control when a worker asked him to pick his own rubbish up from the floor.

The incident was captured on CCTV and showed him slapping another inmate twice on the back of the head before kicking him in the chest.

When a staff member stepped in the accused grabbed him by the collar until a witness pulled him off.

The now 20-year-old appeared via video link in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on multiple charges including unlawfully assault by kicking and is currently held at Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre.

The matter will return to the Melbourne Magistrates Court at a later date.