Police dismiss allegations they mistreated boy allegedly abused at Positive Start camp

The mother of a boy, who was allegedly abused on camp, complained to IBAC about a police officer who interviewed her son about the mistreatment.

The treatment of a boy at a State Government run camp is being investigated.

Victoria Police have dismissed allegations that an officer mistreated a 10-year-old boy who was allegedly abused while on a government-funded camp last year.

The boy, who has twice tried to take his own life and is too afraid to go to school, claims he was hit, punched, kicked, strangled and urinated on by two boys at a Trafalgar camp last September.

He said the two boys, aged 10 and 11, threw him into a metal bunk bed, held him on the ground, urinated on his clothes and sleeping bag, spat in his water bottle and destroyed his comfort teddy.

He was also allegedly strangled by one of the boys, punched in the genitals and had a pillow held over his face.

The boy, who has autism, was attending a Positive Start camp, which is a State Government program designed to boost students’ physical and emotional health.

The mother said she went to the police at the time and the child was interviewed by a female police officer without her or any other support person present in September last year.

She said this was “highly concerning and raises the question of the accuracy of the answers provided”.

“My son said he thought the person interviewing him was speaking a language he did not understand,” she said.

The police concluded as a result of this interview that no criminal offence was committed.

The mother complained to IBAC who referred her to the Chief Commission of Police for investigation.

The boy’s mother said the camp’s operators were also negligent because the boys were unsupervised from 7pm until the next morning, allowing the alleged abuse to occur.

She said her son told staff on the camp but “the claims were not taken seriously and no actions were taken to intervene or stop the assaults”.

The mother said that when she picked up her son from camp he “had a red swollen right eye and was withdrawn and once at home stayed in his room and would not eat”.

She later became aware he had bruises all over his body.

“He was not able to sleep without nightmares and told me he could not get the assaults out of his head, that they kept coming to his mind.”

A Department of Education spokesperson said: “We are aware of an incident that occurred at the Summit Holiday camp in September last year. The incident was referred to Victoria Police.”

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said: “Professional Standards Command received a complaint in relation to a child being interviewed in 2022 without a support person present. The Police Conduct Unit has assessed the file and no misconduct has been identified.

The mother said the police had not followed their own policies and procedures in relation to interviewing vulnerable young people.

The Australian Human Rights Commission is also investigating.