Teen menace on our streets after violent burglaries, assaults

A youth who allegedly tasered a man during a home invasion, bashed another at a basketball court and attacked prison staff while in custody is free to walk the streets again.

The youth allegedly assaulted prison staff while in custody at the Parkville Youth Justice Centre. Picture: Sarah Matray

A teenager who allegedly tasered a man during a home invasion, bashed another at a basketball court, and attacked prison staff while in custody, is free to walk the streets again.

The 16-year-old Sudanese refugee was on remand over two aggravated burglaries when he twice allegedly assaulted staff and kicked and punched another child at the troubled Parkville Youth Justice Centre.

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He is also facing a string of attempted robbery and assault charges, including over an alleged attack on a male at a basketball court in Wyndham Vale in March last year.

It is alleged the teen and four others approached the male and demanded he hand over his phone, slapping him in the face and punching and kicking his head and body until he ran away.

In a separate incident, it is alleged the young man and three others kicked down the door of a Corio property in the middle of the night and yelled at the couple to hand over car keys. The teen allegedly tasered the male victim several times before the female victim grabbed a large carving knife and chased the group away.

The youth allegedly tasered a man during a home invasion.

Youth Justice opposed the teen’s bail application, saying he was an unacceptable risk because of the seriousness of his alleged offences, his behaviour while in custody and previous breaches of his bail.

The court heard the youth had spent time in a refugee camp in Sudan before migrating to Australia in 2007 and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

He had also reportedly told a case worker he sometimes heard voices in his head telling him to hurt others.

But Supreme Court Justice John Champion said with support from his family to help him return to school, as well as strict curfews, the teen’s risk to the community could be reduced.

Justice Champion also noted the teen had already spent more than 200 days in custody and, even if he was found guilty, was unlikely to be sentenced to further detention.

“I am of the opinion that strict conditions can be imposed to ameliorate the risks of granting the applicant bail to an acceptable level,” he said.

While on bail, the teen must be at home between 8pm and 6am every day, report to his local police station between 6am and 8pm three days a week, and attend school unless he provides a medical certificate.

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